It is not only Artemi Panarin who shoulders blame for the Rangers’ lacking performances over the last two games.
But after making a strong impression on the second-round series with two game-winning goals and four assists over its first three contests, Panarin’s impact was conspicuously absent from Games 4 and 5, over which he tallied just two shots and was on the ice for four five-on-five goals against.
“I thought their line, I thought that they were working in Game 4,” Peter Laviolette said Tuesday. “It’s hard to comment on [Monday] night. We just, we weren’t good. But I haven’t seen anything in particular [with him].”
The line of Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere was responsible for just one high-danger chance across Games 4 and 5, per Natural Stat Trick, despite Lafreniere’s individually excellent performance in the former.
Panarin, whose regular season was good enough to earn consideration for Hart Trophy ballots, seemed to have put a struggling performance in last year’s postseason behind him, along with the rest of the Rangers.
But with the Hurricanes having clawed back to make it a 3-2 series after trailing 3-0, with Game 6 in Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday, the door is cracking open to some uncomfortable questions on that front.
“There’s unique players in the game — and he’s one of them — they can be nonexistent and then next thing you know, they end the game for you,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Panarin. “And they have that unique ability. Every time he’s on the ice, you notice him and he’s a threat as far as I’m concerned. You feel it.
“I think we’ve maybe done a nice job just having that awareness. Like we know when he’s on the ice, you better be tight and I think that’s maybe part of the success we’ve had.“We saw it in the one game. You give him a couple feet and it’s in your net. That’s what that kind of player can do for you.”
Though Blake Wheeler has returned to full-contact practice after suffering a right leg injury in February, Laviolette did not sound inclined to consider the forward for a lineup return anytime soon.
“We are working to get him up to speed and that’s where he’s at right now,” Laviolette said. “So he’s full go at practice but as you have seen, he’s just recently gotten to this point and so we want to make sure that he’s in a position for success.”
Jacob Trouba was named the winner of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, which is given “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
Messier selects the winner after canvassing team and league personnel for a list of candidates. Trouba is the first Ranger to win the award since its inception in 2007.
The defenseman and his wife, Kelly, have raised over $160,000 this season for the Garden of Dreams Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation, primarily through selling his art.
Neither the Rangers nor the Hurricanes held practice on Tuesday.
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