Rangers’ Artemi Panarin more than worthy of NHL’s top honor
NY Post
The Rangers took down the points-leading Bruins on Thursday night, countering the notion that the club struggles to beat upper-echelon teams — despite the fact that they are 11-8-1 against the other nine teams in the league’s top 10.
Just like the 5-2 victory in Boston, however, none of it would be possible without Artemi Panarin.
That is the core of what the Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded for, and that is why the star Russian wing should be the frontrunner for the honor.
“Just trying to get him out there,” head coach Peter Laviolette said with a chuckle after Panarin recorded his third hat trick of the season Thursday, giving him point No. 97 en route to what will be his first career 100-point campaign. “More and more because you can tell he’s creating every time he’s on the ice. He’s in the offensive zone. Sometimes, the more he plays, the better he gets. And so you just got to try to find him a little bit of ice time. Big game like this and he really stepped up.”
This season in particular, Panarin has not only been at the heart of one of the most lethal lines in the NHL, but he has been a playmaking force in a way that has dazzled on a game-by-game basis.
The 32-year-old is the first Rangers player since Jaromir Jagr to post 40-plus goals and 50-plus assists in the same season. He is also just the fifth undrafted skater in the past three decades to score 40 goals in a season.
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