With four assists, Artemi Panarin sets career-high with 96 points
The Rangers' Andrew Copp, right, celebrates with Artemi Panarin after scoring a goal against the Islanders on April 21. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
A day after Artemi Panarin discussed how he’d changed his approach to the game at some point during the season to try and go where the puck is, rather than staying in his left wing position, the Rangers’ forward had four assists in the Blueshirts’ 6-3 win over the Islanders Thursday night at UBS Arena.
“I thought he was outstanding,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of Panarin. “He doesn’t play a perfect ‘D’ zone coverage. He doesn’t back check as hard as some guys, because he’s reading plays and you know, that’s what he does.
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A day after Artemi Panarin discussed how he’d changed his approach to the game at some point during the season to try and go where the puck is, rather than staying in his left wing position, the Rangers’ forward had four assists in the Blueshirts’ 6-3 win over the Islanders Thursday night at UBS Arena.
“I thought he was outstanding,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of Panarin. “He doesn’t play a perfect ‘D’ zone coverage. He doesn’t back check as hard as some guys, because he’s reading plays and you know, that’s what he does.
“He competes and he played hard. I thought tonight [the Islanders] went after him a little bit, and he just bounced off them and kept making his plays. He doesn’t play the same way as everybody else, but that’s what makes him special.’’
Panarin has 74 assists (second-best in the NHL) and 96 points, a new career-high.
Fox skates in 200th game
Defenseman Adam Fox had three assists in his 200th career game. The Jericho native earned his 70th point of the season to give the Rangers four players with at least 70 points in a season for the fourth time in franchise history.
“When points come, they feel pretty nice to get,’’ Fox said. “But the team has been rolling recently. So, at the end of the day, we've had a good shutout streak. I'm a defenseman, and you know, that's something back there we take a lot of pride in.
"And yeah, obviously to get three assists, to get a goal [in Tuesday's win over Winnipeg], it's nice … but you know, when the team is winning, that's when I think the locker room's at its best, I think that's when everyone has their best energy.’’
Blue notes
Besides starting Alexandar Georgiev in net, Gallant made one change from the lineup he used in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over Winnipeg, inserting defenseman Justin Braun in place of Patrik Nemeth. The other scratches were forwards Greg McKegg, Julien Gauthier and Jonny Brodzinski, and D Libor Hajek . . . The Rangers went 2-2-0 against the Islanders this season. All four games were won by the visiting team . . .
The Blueshirts have four games remaining in the regular season: Saturday afternoon in Boston, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Garden against Carolina and Montreal, and next Friday at the Garden against Washington in the regular-season finale.