Rangers' Artemi Panarin on being booed in Washington: 'Just playing hockey'
Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Two of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Apr. 23, 2024 in New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
WASHINGTON — Rangers forward Artemi Panarin grinned when asked about being booed by the crowd at Capital One Arena when he touched the puck on Friday in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Capitals.
“I got used to [being booed] from Columbus,’’ Panarin joked Saturday after the Rangers’ optional practice at the arena.
He was referring to how Blue Jackets fans boo him when he returns to Columbus because he left the Blue Jackets to sign with the Rangers as a free agent in 2019.
This was something totally different, though.
The Washington fans booed Panarin because of his hit on forward T.J. Oshie in Game 2 on Tuesday at the Garden, which many saw as dirty. The hit was reviewed by the officials to see if it was a major penalty for a hit to the head and was deemed not a penalty.
Panarin had little to say about the hit Saturday.
“Just playing hockey,’’ he said.
The hit seemed to be payback for some of the physical play Oshie had been making a point to deliver on Panarin during the game.
At one point, Oshie got a stick up in Panarin’s face, clipping his eye shield and knocking him to the ice, but there was no call. Another time, Oshie grabbed Panarin around the neck from behind during a scrum.
Oshie himself didn’t have a problem with Panarin’s hit.
“Me personally, I thought the Panarin hit was good,” Oshie said in an on-camera interview with TNT before Game 3.
“I love that. I think that’s the way it should be called when you hit through someone’s body. Obviously, sometimes you can hit the head on accident, but I kinda like that style of play.”
Panarin was asked what he thought of what Oshie said.
“I mean, good?’’ he said.
With the Rangers leading 3-0 in the series after Friday’s win and having the chance to close it out Sunday in Game 4, Panarin was asked if it is important for the Rangers to win and earn themselves some rest.
The Rangers played two seven-game series and 20 playoff games in 40 days in their run to the Eastern Conference finals two years ago.
“We’ll try to win tomorrow for sure, [but we’re] never thinking about what happened two years ago,’’ he said. “Yeah. If we have the opportunity, we’ll try and finish it for sure.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
