They got down to business again: Panarin prevented Georgiev’s benefit performance, Sorokin stopped 35 shots

Highlights: Artemi Panarin saved the Rangers from defeat in the NHL regular season match with Colorado. Guest goalkeeper Alexander Georgiev saved 27 shots during the game and was recognized as the third star of the match. Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves and helped the Islanders get the better of Toronto on the road. His counterpart Ilya Samsonov managed 26 shots on his own goal, but suffered his fourth defeat of the season in regulation time. And the hero of the game was Alexi Lafreniere, who upset Georgiev with a deft throw-in from under the defender. In addition, he retains first place in the number of victories among all goalkeepers in the league.

Artemi Panarin saved the Rangers from defeat in the NHL regular season match with Colorado. The Russian equalized the score in the third period and sent the match into overtime, where his team was able to snatch victory thanks to a goal from Alexi Lafreniere. Guest goalkeeper Alexander Georgiev saved 27 shots during the game and was recognized as the third star of the match. In turn, Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves and helped the Islanders get the better of Toronto on the road. His counterpart Ilya Samsonov managed 26 shots on his own goal, but suffered his fourth defeat of the season in regulation time.

In the National Hockey League, the break associated with the All-Star Game ended, and the teams continued to fight for access to the playoffs with renewed vigor. On the eve of the game day, fans had the right to expect two duels between Russian goalkeepers at once, since the Rangers and Colorado, as well as the Islanders and Toronto, met each other.

However, the head coach of the team at Madison Square Garden, Peter Laviolette, made his own adjustments: instead of Igor Shesterkin, he sent Jonathan Quick onto the court. The Russian’s replacement also played the previous game of the championship, since the 2022 Vezina winner was pretty feverish at the end of January. In the match with Vegas, he managed to reflect only 15 shots out of 19, and in the game with San Jose he looked a little better, but missed in overtime.

“My numbers are not great, but I work tirelessly. I think sometimes the point is that you need to act a little better, and sometimes you miss it because you’re just unlucky... I need to change everything radically, turn it 180 degrees,” Igor said during training after the stellar weekend.

But in the reporting match, Shestyorkin remained on the bench, and notable figures on the court were both Quick, who reflected 32 shots during the match and was recognized as its first star, and Alexander Georgiev. The 27-year-old goalkeeper kept his possession intact for 51 minutes 17 seconds and was close to registering a third shutout of the season and his team to a fourth win in a row. However, Colorado's position was precarious, as the forwards managed to convert only one of the many chances they created into a goal: Nathan MacKinnon scored at the end of the first period. Thanks to this goal, he not only caught up with Nikita Kucherov in the scorers race, but also set a Colorado record. The Canadian is the first player in franchise history to score 85 points in 50 games to start a season.

However, the Rangers players did not allow him to do more, and in the third period Artemiy Panarin had his say, scoring a beautiful goal. The Russian refused to participate in the All-Star Game, preferring to spend the holidays with his family, and it seems that the break from hockey did him good. In addition, Laviolette brought an element of surprise into the game by fielding Panarin in a threesome with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. After a throw-in, the Russian received the puck behind Georgiev's goal, made a voyage to the blue line, confidently covering the puck from Cale Makar, who was pursuing him, and then shot with his wrists. The goalkeeper was taken by surprise, and the puck flew into the net right next to the crossbar.

“He's one of our best offensive players. I’m just trying to put him in the right zone with the right players and see if it’s possible to periodically release him in two lines to find something,” the American specialist explained his move after the game.

For Panarin, this goal was already the 31st of the season, and the forward was just one step away from repeating his personal scoring record. In addition, he took fourth place in the table of top scorers of the current championship, and also updated the Rangers record book for the number of goals in 50 matches since the start of the regular season over the past 25 years. Only Rick Nash in the 2014/15 season and Chris Kreider in 2021/22 scored more than him in fifty games - both had 33 goals.

And the hero of overtime was Alexi Lafreniere, who upset Georgiev with a deft throw from under the defender. However, despite the defeat and two missed goals, Alexander was still recognized as the third star of the meeting. In addition, he retains first place in the number of victories among all goalkeepers in the league - the Russian has 27 of them.

In the match between Toronto and the Islanders, the duel between Russian goalkeepers did take place, and the victory went to Ilya Sorokin. He has 35 saved shots and his 15th victory in this regular season. In addition, the native of Novokuznetsk strengthened his leadership in the total number of saves in the season. After the reporting match, he had 1128 of them on his account. Georgiev is in second place in this indicator - 1045.

The team from New York managed to break a streak of three defeats in a row and get close to the playoff zone. The Maple Leafs, on the other hand, had their winning streak, which also consisted of three games, ended. Ilya Samsonov has 26 saves. This season, the Russian managed to win only eight matches out of 20 in which he took to the ice in the starting lineup.

They got down to business again: Panarin prevented Georgiev’s benefit performance, Sorokin stopped 35 shots

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