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‘It’s a weird feeling’: Rangers resigned to life without Artemi Panarin
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- ‘It’s a weird feeling’: Rangers resigned to life without Artemi Panarin
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The New York Rangers announced before their game against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night that their leading scorer, Artemi Panarin, would be held out of the lineup, at least through the Feb. 4 – their final game before the Olympic break – for "roster management" as they reportedly seek to trade him. His soon-to-be former teammates then played like he was already gone.
Without their leading scorer, the Rangers lost 5-2 at UBS Arena on a night they managed just 16 shots against Islanders backup goaltender David Rittich . They took needless penalties that led to two goals by one of the League's worst power plays, allowed Islanders forwards to get position in the offensive zone, couldn't get the puck out of their own end when they needed to, and played with little passion – in other words, like they've played for much of the season even with Panarin in the lineup … just without their top scorer.
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"It's a little weird," center Vincent Trocheck said Wednesday of playing without Panarin, his longtime linemate. "With how it happened later in the day and show up to the rink and he's not there, it's a weird feeling."
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There's been speculation that Panarin would be gone soon ever since general manager Chris Drury released "The Letter 2.0," promising major personnel changes after this season went south. The Rangers informed the pending free agent earlier this month that they won't offer him a contract extension and intend to work with him to find a trade destination. Panarin has a no-movement clause in his contract, meaning that he has the final say on if and where he goes. He hasn't said which teams he'd consider waiving the no-move clause for.
If Panarin has indeed played his final game with the Rangers, he leaves behind some pretty terrific numbers.
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The 34-year-old played 482 games with the Rangers since signing as a free agent on July 2, 2019. He piled up 607 points (205 goals, 402 assists) – ninth in team history despite being just 43rd in games played. Even more impressive is his 1.26 points per game – the highest of any player who's ever worn Rangers blue.
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"Bread's a terrific player and a great teammate," coach Mike Sullivan said after the Rangers lost the opener of a home-and-home set that concludes Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. "He's good friends with a lot of guys that are in that dressing room. That has an impact on guys. He's one of the best Rangers of his generation. He's not an easy guy to replace when he's not in the lineup. Everybody understands it, and we're going to control what we can.
"We're going to see what we can take from this one and try to put our best game on the ice tomorrow."
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Word that Panarin likely played his final game with the Rangers reached his teammates not long before game time.
Rangers beginning to adapt to life without Artemi Panarin
"It's weird when you play with someone for so long and they're not in the lineup for whatever reason it might be," said center Mika Zibanejad, who scored one of the Rangers' two goals. "It's different, but we have to keep playing.
"It was just getting the info that he wasn't playing right before the game. You don't have a lot of time to think about that kind of stuff, but I've played with him for seven years. We're all human beings at the end of the day. The situation is what it is."
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For Trocheck, the prospect that Panarin is headed somewhere else means not only that he's losing a linemate – he's also losing a friend.
"We know what a situation like this brings, and for me personally, it being a guy like Bread, who I've become extremely close with over the last four years and was lucky enough to play with, it's been a huge blessing for me," he said. "I've learned a ton from him."
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Sullivan hadn't been stingy with his recent usage of Panarin, who's logged more than 20 minutes of ice time each of his past five games — including 24:15 in a 4-3 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Monday, which seems likely to be his final game with the Rangers.
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Panarin leads the Blueshirts with 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) through 52 games. He's been their leading scorer in each of his seasons in New York.
The reality that they're being forced to move forward without their top scorer and most electric player is hitting the locker room hard.
"It's just a different type of challenge," Sullivan said. "But when you go through these types of challenges, I think it forces all of us to look in the mirror and try to figure out how we can all do a better job. I'm certainly doing that myself. I'm going to try to do the best job I can for this team as their coach, and it starts with bringing the right attitude every day and making sure that we bring a certain level of enthusiasm to what we do. We're going to learn through the experiences. We're going to try to win the one game right in front of us."
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