Amazing: Panarin scored a hat-trick, and Kucherov made poker out of assists in the NHL

Panarin's sniper feat

Even at the dawn of his career, the future Rangers star was perceived primarily as a hockey player who prefers to lead his partners into a striking position rather than attack himself. And over the years, the label of not the most scoring striker stuck tightly to Artemy Panarin, which was largely facilitated by statistics. If during his performances in the KHL he had 1.4 passes for each smashing shot, then after moving to North America - almost two. Thus, before the start of this season, the Russian had 216 goals and 445 assists, while he surpassed the grandmaster mark of 30 goals only three times during the regular season.

However, the current competitive year has allowed many to take a fresh look at the Rangers leader. He began to finish himself much more often and by the end of the calendar year he managed to score twice with both a double and a hat-trick, and subsequently, although he slowed down a little, he did not fall out of the leaders of the sniper race. Yes, it was impossible to reach Auston Matthews, who was in first place, but the chances of competing for a place in the top four were more than high. And after a successful trip to Massachusetts, they became even more impressive.

On the eve of the confrontation with Boston, Panarin had 38 accurate shots, and there was very little left to overcome the cherished bar of four dozen. And Artemy did not prolong the pleasure, having conquered this peak by the end of the second period. Just over 11 minutes apart he, albeit in rather unsightly fashion, twice caught Jeremy Swayman off guard and helped Rangers not only level the score, but also take the lead.

However, the star striker did not stop there and, right at the end, hit the empty target, putting an end to the match - 5:2. And he scored the seventh hat-trick in his career and the fifth as part of the Blue Shirts. Since his move to New York, only Mika Zibanejad (six) has done it more often.

However, Panarin’s achievements did not end there. He not only became the 13th Russian to score 40 or more goals during the regular season, but also set a personal scoring record, scoring 97 (41 + 56) points for the first time. And he continued to pursue David Pastrnak not only in the race of scorers, but also of snipers. In the first he takes fifth position, in the second - sixth.

Kucherov's incredible consistency

In turn, the next step towards winning the second Art Ross Trophy was taken by the leader of Tampa Bay, who has been demonstrating a phenomenal level of productivity over the past month. Nikita Kucherov entered his name into the score sheet for the 12th match in a row and not only set a new club record for the longest scoring streak, but also personally organized the rout of San Jose (4:1). And although he himself never turned on the red light behind the opponent’s goal, he was recognized as the first star - like Panarin.

Yes, Kucherov’s contribution to the Lightning’s first goal was not so significant. Formally, he became one of the participants in the combination, but all the work was done by Victor Hedman, who made a timely pass to the nickel, and Nick Paul, who perfectly understood the episode. However, subsequently the guests managed to lose to the worst team in the NHL and entered the final period with an equal score. And it was here that the Russian really got involved and helped Brayden Point score a double, and Anthony Duclair score for the fourth time for his new team.

Moreover, in all three cases, it was Kucherov who acted as the first assistant, and the last two goals were especially spectacular. First, the Russian brought Duclair to meet the Sharks goalkeeper with a smart cross pass, and then won the fight and the boards and, on his knees, rolled towards Point, who was on the back foot.

Thus, Kucherov was the first Russian to reach the 120-point mark for the championship twice (41 + 81) and was five points ahead of his main competitor in the fight for the top scorer prize, Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon. He also took credit for another Tampa Bay achievement, scoring four points per game for the fourth time this season.

Doubles of Zadorov and Mikheev

But if everyone has long been accustomed to the fantastic performances of Kucherov and Panarin, then to see something similar performed by the Russian legionnaires of Vancouver was extremely unexpected. Yes, at the end of the game day, Nikita Zadorov and Ilya Mikheev were unable to boast hat-tricks and assists, but they scored exactly half of the team’s goals in the confrontation with Montreal and helped the Canucks continue the battle for the President’s Cup. Today they share second place with the Rangers and are second only to the current trophy winner, Boston.

Moreover, the Russians needed less than 240 seconds to do this. At the 16th minute of the first period, Mikheev brought Zadorov into the striking position for the first time, and at the very end he repeated this trick. The defender left Sam Montembeault out of action twice and for only the second time in his career he scored more than once in a match. In April 2023, he scored three times against San Jose.

Subsequently, Montreal conceded for the third time, and even if they didn’t lose dry, they still couldn’t avoid defeat. Eight minutes before the siren, Nils Oman put the finishing touches, and one of the assistants was Vasily Podkolzin, who scored the first point in the championship. However, Zadorov’s goal remained victorious, and he himself was recognized as the first star, while Mikheev was the second.