The playmaker was noted on the sniper front – Newspaper Kommersant No. 26 (7471) of 02/13/2023

The Russian forward of the New York Rangers Artemy Panarin became the hero of the next day of the NHL regular season. In a match with the Carolina Hurricanes, he scored four goals and brought his team, which seems to be acquiring the status of one of the favorites of the season, for the fifth consecutive victory.

The match in which the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 could, of course, turn into an informational hit. The New York club on the road dealt with the club, which now ranks second in the regular season summary table and, in principle, looks extremely strong. And he dealt with him, despite the amazing statistics. In total, the guests made only 19 shots on target on goal. This is a monstrously modest figure. Moreover, for the Rangers, she was the anti-record of the current season. But in the end, he managed to score six goals, showing exceptional efficiency.

The person who made the difference in this match was easy to identify. In fact, Artemy Panarin is the player from whom some kind of explosion is always expected. But the thing is that he has long been accustomed to the fact that he is, first of all, a chic playmaker, dispersing attacks and helping his teammates score. Before this match, he had a dozen goals in 52 meetings of the regular season: not exactly a nightmarish figure, but not in any way suggestive of a sniper explosion. And meanwhile it happened.

In the opening period of the match, Artemiy Panarin got a point in the usual way – with an assist on Mika Zibanejad. At the end of the second, he equalized with a wrist shot, scoring his 200th goal in the regular championships. And in the third, he gave out something completely extraordinary, hitting the gates of the Carolina losing support under his feet three times in different ways – from finishing, after reaching the goalkeeper, with a throw from a distance. Then Artemy Panarin himself, breaking into the top 20 top scorers of the championship with 59 points, admitted that he was surprised at his achievement: he had hat-tricks in the NHL, but never four goals in one match. “Probably a good day,” he said.

Panarin’s stunt left the Rangers at the center of North American hockey coverage. The most recent reason they’re there is a high-profile deal late last week that saw the New Yorkers trade Russia’s great forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko scored in his first match in the new club – against the Seattle Kraken, and it was Panarin who acted as his assistant.

But something else is more important. Even before the season, the Rangers seemed to be one of his shadow favorites. Well, it seems that there is no luxurious background, but the quality of the squad (and not only Panarin, but also goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin, defender Adam Fox, forwards Zibanejad and Chris Kreider – hockey players, of course, top ones) hints at the possibility of a breakthrough. In February, the hint became even more transparent. The win over the Carolinas was the Rangers’ fifth in a row. At the same time, the team has not suffered defeats with a difference larger than two goals since December.

Alexey Dospekhov