The next NHL gaming day was marked by Artemy Panarin. Forward “New York Rangers” chalked up the first hat-trick in the sweater of the new team and added to this an effective transfer to Mika Zibanezhad. This not only brought his team a victory over San Jose Sharks, but also allowed the Russian to win the title of the first star of the day.
Panarin entered the stage in the middle of the second period and did not leave her any more until the final siren. It is noteworthy that the first two goals were made at the moment when the Russian was on an unusual right edge of the attack. At first, he made great use of Ryan Stroum’s gear and threw a shell between Martin Jones’s legs. The second time he scored after almost half an hour, rolling out from behind the goal and throwing right in the near corner. A spectacular point was the "shooting" of an empty target, which secured the advantage of the guests.
Thus, the Rangers continued the struggle for getting into the playoffs, and the San Jose suffered a sixth consecutive defeat. The California team is in a deep crisis, and even a change of coach has not yet helped out of it. In this match, the debut of Bob Bugner, the acting coach, took place, but he could not have a positive effect.
As for Panarin, for him this hat-trick became the first in the new team and the third in his overseas career, which started in October 2015. This is due to the fact that he was always known as the organizer of attacks and was famous for his ability to give a timely transfer, rather than the desire to make a throw. In this regard, in his track record there is not only assistant poker, but also a pentric-trick. On December 9, 2017, he took part in each of the five abandoned pucks of Columbus in the confrontation with New Jersey.
Thanks to the current successful performance, Panarin became just the 17th hockey player who managed to get a hat-trick in three different clubs. But all the more interesting is that the Rangers were always present on the ice. So, in 2016, Artemy hit the gates of Henrik Lundqvist three times in a Chicago sweater, two years later he repeated it as part of Columbus. Then the journalists even asked if there was any kind of agreement between him and the Swedish goalkeeper, but it turned out that the matter was exclusively in the team from the Big Apple.
This performance helped Panarin not only become the main star of the day in the NHL, but also the first Russian to step over the mark of 40 points scored for the season. After defeating San Jose, he has 41 (18 + 23) points, and the closest pursuer is young Andrei Svechnikov from Carolina with 34 (13 + 21) points. The third line is shared by the stars Alexander Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov, who each have 33 points.
Bombardier successes and stability Artemia more and more clearly indicate that a new superstar has appeared in Russia. Of course, he has long been considered one of the strongest domestic athletes and is traditionally included in the short lists of the most talented hockey players on the planet. Already at Columbus, he showed high productivity, which was perfectly confirmed by his results. So, in each of the two seasons, he set a new Blue Jackets record for the number of points for the regular season.
But, defending the colors of the Ohio team, it’s very difficult to achieve superstar status. Columbus was founded only in 2000 and therefore does not have a rich history, and its main achievement is reaching the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In addition, he shows a very viscous defensive hockey. Speaking for such a team, it is almost impossible to write your name in the story. But even this did not stop Artemy from shining on the ice and delighting his personal fans with striking achievements.
In New York, Panarin has every chance to fully realize his potential and can be sure that his success will be known all over the world. The Rangers is one of the oldest NHL teams and the first ever Stanley Cup winner in history. At the same time, his matches are held on the legendary Madison Square Garden arena, and among former players there are such legends as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Brian Leach, Jaromir Jagr, Pavel Bure, Mike Richter and others.
In addition, the “blue shirts” are always expected exclusively success, in connection with which athletes have to constantly be under tremendous pressure. In this regard, many doubted that the striker would be able to get used to the game in such an atmosphere as soon as possible and immediately achieve success. But as of December, we can safely say that the period of adaptation passed extremely quickly and imperceptibly.
Panarin feels great in one of the largest cities in the world and manages not to be distracted by numerous temptations. He is fully focused on hockey, which clearly confirms his achievements. At the moment, he is gaining an average of 1.32 points per meeting and in the case of maintaining a given pace, for the first time in his career he can score 100 points for the regular season. So far, the best result of Artemia is 87 (28 + 59) points.
All this indicates that in the near future Panarin may well achieve a status that will allow him, if not to outshine Ovechkin, then at least stand in line with him. And this applies not only to the level of the game, but also to popularity. For a long time, only Evgeni Malkin could compete with the captain of Washington, but soon he could have a new competitor.
Of course, for this Artemy will have to withstand fierce competition with other compatriots who managed to loudly declare themselves. So, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko already have Stanley Cup victories together with their teams, and Nikita Kucherov has a record for the most points for a season among Russians. However, the advantages of the Rangers forward include not only the highest skill, but also great charisma, and the game in New York only contributes to its popularity.
But in order to really catch up with athletes of the caliber Ovechkin and Malkin, Panarin needs to add both individual and team awards to the piggy bank. Now he takes eighth place in the ranking of the top scorers of the league and has every chance to compete for the “Art Ross Trophy”. Of course, the lag behind Connor McDavid (20 + 37) and Leon Dreisaitle (20 + 35) from Edmonton is more than impressive, but no one is safe from recessions.
In addition, last season once again showed that the chances of winning the Stanley Cup are absolutely all the participants in the playoffs. Winning the NHL's main trophy right away will make Panarin one of the main faces of the league and will certainly provide him with a comparison with Ovechkin. True, for this you need to be among the 16 strongest. So far, the Rangers are ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference, losing one point to the upcoming eighth Montreal.