Today, March 27, in a game against Philadelphia, Artemiy Panarin had three assists and for the first time in his career surpassed the 100-point mark in the regular season. The indicator by which hockey players are often called superstars.
Artemy entered a truly elite club of Russian players who achieved this mark. Active hockey players include Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov. Among those who completed their careers were Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure.
Let’s look at when Panarin was close to a hundred in the regular season, but for various reasons did not cross the triple-digit threshold.
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Chronology of Panarin’s campaign for the hundred
Artemy began his NHL career in 2015 with the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. What did not happen in the debut season: playing online with Patrick Kane, which exuded magic and ease, Patrick himself helped in the last match of the regular season so that Artemy could win a big bonus, the first individual prize in the NHL: the Calder Trophy. But he was still far from a hundred. Panarin scored 77 points, and only Artemy’s teammate Patrick Kane scored more than 100 points among all players. These were the realities in the NHL in the mid-2010s. The following season, Panarin scored 74 points, and after the trade with Columbus, in which the Russian had to earn a life contract, 82 and 87.
Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane in Chicago
Photo: Nam Y. Huh/AP/TASS
The first real, tangible opportunity to score 100 points came in his first season with the Rangers. Panarin instantly became the leader of the Blueshirts, who did not shine that season. But Artemy had no qualms about working hard for himself and his teammate, sometimes winning games for the team almost single-handedly and delighting the demanding Manhattan crowd. The Russian forward needed five points in 12 games, but suddenly the coronavirus pandemic hit, which not only locked the entire world in his homes, but also stopped Panarin’s historic campaign.
It was Panarin’s best season in the NHL, if you do not take into account this one, which one of the best hockey players in the world, Nathan MacKinnon, once appreciated: “I knew Panarin was a free agent, so we followed the situation in Columbus ”. What kind of player is this! I watched him all season and we stayed in touch. This is a really nice guy. He may be a little biased, but in my opinion he should win the Hart this year.”
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Panarin had a second great opportunity to reach a major milestone two years later, but an injury late in the regular season ruined all plans. The coach decided to take care of the Rangers leader and let him recover in peace: “If this game had been next week and it was the playoffs, it is most likely that Panarin and Copp would have played again. “They didn’t come back tonight because we’re being cautious and we don’t want to risk anything in the playoffs, which start next week.” Thus, Panarin scored 96 points in 75 games, breaking his personal record, but again fell short of one hundred.
There’s not much to say about last season. Panarin played a full regular season for the first time with the Rangers, but the season proved to be very difficult and controversial, and Artemy even temporarily lost the magic he was loved for. As a result: 92 points in 82 games.
Reasons for Panarin’s transformation this season
First of all, this is the status of the main character of the site. Someone might object by saying that Panarin was the leader of the Rangers before. But it’s not like that. Gerard Gallant, who replaced David Quinn, began using Panarin in a completely different way, forcing Artemy to take on more delivery duties and also depriving him of the freedom of action and movement on the court that had formed the Khlebushka game before. But with the arrival of Laviolette, everything changed: Panarin was again assigned the role of free artist, which freed his hands and allowed him to take control of the troika or a special team into his own hands.
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There has been a smooth transition to the majority, so let’s talk about that too. The freedom of action that Panarin is allowed in equal lineups is also present in the game in unequal lineups. If you watch Panarin on the power play, you won’t understand exactly what position he plays. He can stand in the right faceoff circle, he can move to the blue line, he can replace Zibanejad at left wing or he can even go to nickel, like in the recent game against Pittsburgh.
Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can see it on the NHL website.
This Brownian movement of the situation can often confuse the opponent, but for Artemy it is an opportunity to find infinite options for developing attacks.
Panarin also saw an increase in average playing time per game compared to the previous two seasons. There are several reasons: from the moment of Wheeler’s injury to the transfer of Roslovic, Artemy had to go out to play in the first combination, helping Kreider and Zibanejad, and the workload also increased due to the adventures of the New York goalkeeper Matt Remp. that he committed a big penalty in almost every game, after which the order in which the attacking trios entered the ice was altered.
Artemy Panarin
Photo: Jason Redmond/AP/TASS
One important point that many who watch Rangers games have noticed is the increase in Panarin’s shooting activity. Let’s look at the statistics: in the 2021/2022 season, Panarin took 177 shots in 75 games (2.36 on average per game), last season 204 shots in 82 games (2.49 on average). The Rangers forward has taken 258 shots in 72 games this season (3.58 average). The benefits of this factor can already be used: his personal record for goals was already surpassed in the 59th match of the season, and at the moment Artemy has scored 43 goals. Furthermore, the shots taken are often not primitive, but very cunning; Panarin captures the moment when the goalkeeper is most uncomfortable reacting to the shot.
Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can see it on the NHL website.
The merit of our regular partners, Trocheck and Lafreniere, cannot be underestimated. Panarin feels very good in line with them, since they both understand Russian hockey and can also clean up the defense, because playing in their own zone is not the favorite activity of the Rangers leader. This is especially surprising compared to last season, when Artemy played with everyone he could.
What’s next for Panarin?
First of all, this is not the time to stop there. Panarin has a real chance to break the single-season points records of the two best Russian hockey players of the 21st century: Evgeni Malkin, who scored 113 points in the 2008/2009 season, and Alexander Ovechkin, who scored 112 points in the 2007 season. /2008 season. And this, you know, is a milestone in history.
In the history of the Rangers, the record belongs to Jaromir Jagr, who scored 123 points in the 2005/2006 season after the lockout. It will be extremely difficult to reach the Czech legend. But it is quite possible to reach second place: it is now occupied by Jean Ratel, who scored 109 more points than 50 years ago.
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We also take into account that Panarin has the opportunity to reach 50 goals for the first time in his career. Artemy has 10 games to score 7 goals. At the moment, only six Russians can boast of such an achievement: Alexander Mogilny, Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Malkin.
And the icing on the birthday cake, of course, is the upcoming playoffs, for which the Rangers have already officially qualified. Last year, Panarin flopped, scoring 2 (0+2) points in seven Stanley Cup games. And even those from the first half of the first game. Artemy himself understands this and his words before the start of the season confirm it: “Last year I felt terrible because we were in a situation where we could win the Stanley Cup. That’s what we thought before the playoffs started. We had a great team and then we lost after leading 2-0, and especially because of my performance.” If the Russian striker translates the game that he shows in the regular season to the playoffs, then this season promises to be really great.
