
Artemi Panarin shows again why he remains valuable Rangers constant even as team embraces youth
NY Post
The first day of the rest of Gabe Perreault’s life turned into just another day in the life of Artemi Panarin, the greatest big-money free agent signing in Rangers franchise history, imperfect though No. 10 may be.
For while this was the night on which the 19-year-old Perreault was awarded a top-six leading role on Broadway while making his NHL debut, this also represented yet another match in which the 33-year-old winger dominated for shifts at a time, getting one goal and a pair of assists that included the setup on Vincent Trocheck’s overtime-winner at 0:24 to elevate the Blueshirts over the Wild 5-4.
Much of it was a mess. There were egregious giveaways — a significant one by K’Andre Miller, a dumbfounding one by Trocheck — and there was the chronic incompetence from the power-play unit, there were two one-goal leads frittered away, there was a shorthanded goal yielded, but on this night and in this Game 75, the Blueshirts persevered.
They played with heart.

The very early version of Kevin Durant in the NBA was pitched to us as the loyal basketball purist, the ideal small-market personality. He enjoyed playing in Oklahoma City. He might play there forever, right? That was the vibe. In the wake of The Decision, Durant was considered the anti-LeBron James.