Rangers' Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck need to be the stars that carry the offense
Rangers center Mika Zibanejad and left wing Alexis Lafreniere, right, celebrate with left wing Artemi Panarin after his goal against the Flyers in the second period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 20. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
You may have read or heard or watched something by now regarding the Rangers’ lack of scoring this season, especially at home.
Nothing that happened on Saturday at Madison Square Garden erased that issue, even if the Rangers did bounce back from a two-goal deficit to secure a 5-4 shootout victory over the Flyers.
But there was a positive beyond the victory, which improved the Rangers to 5-10-3 at home:
The game was a reminder that there is hope in the form of some offensive arrows left in coach Mike Sullivan’s quiver.
The Rangers — who have scored only 96 goals, the fewest in the Eastern Conference, and are averaging only 2.59 goals per game — scored four goals in regulation and added two in the shootout. Three were by Artemi Panarin, two by Vincent Trocheck and one by Mika Zibanejad — a one-timer on a power play at 17:26 of the third period that tied the score.
These are the guys the Rangers (18-15-4) must lean on to get into playoff contention, perhaps even more so with captain J.T. Miller leaving Saturday’s game midway through the third period with what looked like a potentially serious upper-body injury.
At least defenseman Adam Fox appears to be nearing a return to full-contact practice and to game action soon after that.
But for now, it is quite helpful to have linemates Panarin and Zibanejad clicking.
“I think those guys have developed some chemistry,” Sullivan said. “I think they’ve been driving a lot of offense when they’ve been in the lineup, for the most part.”
Said Zibanejad of the pairing: “So far, so good.”
Panarin has had ups and downs in seven seasons with the Rangers, but at 34, he remains a gifted offensive weapon, a trait that was on full display against the Flyers (17-10-7).
Left alone in the slot, he scored late in the first period off a nice feed from Zibanejad to make it 1-0.
The Flyers scored four times in the second period — twice on power plays, once shorthanded — a debacle that goaltender Igor Shesterkin beat himself up over after the game.
But the Rangers stayed in it because of a nifty shot by Panarin from the right circle that beat goaltender Samuel Ersson to stop a streak of three consecutive goals by the Flyers.
With boos building early in the third period, Trocheck backhanded in his own rebound at 9:13 to give the Rangers hope.
The Flyers later got hit with a delay-of-game penalty and Zibanejad made them pay from the left circle.
“I’ve hit better one-timers than that that haven’t gone in,” he said, “so it was just at that time during the game, it’s nice to see that one go in.”
The Rangers killed off two penalties in overtime, something Sullivan said he had never seen before in the regular season. Then Panarin and Trocheck converted in the shootout, Shesterkin stopped two Flyers chances, and that was that.
Panarin’s shootout goal came on a deft move that led to a backhander that traveled high over the helpless Ersson.
Panarin said he approached the shootout with a plan, then “I saw an opportunity where I can do that, and then I did it.”
Panarin was born in 1991, and Zibanejad, Trocheck and Miller all in 1993, so relying on them is not a long-term solution for the franchise.
But it must be a short-term solution. The Rangers have proved they do not have a wide array of offensive options.
The key, the stars say, is not overthinking such things. The only metric that mattered on Saturday was 5-4.
“We focus on wins,” Panarin said. “When you’re gripping your stick, it’s hard to win . . . I can’t say we’re thinking about that. [There is] probably more pressure about wins or losses, not about goals.”
Said Zibanejad, “If I can score more, we probably win more games. You try not to focus on it, but you try to put yourselves in position to score. You’re trying to get the chances; that’s the first thing.”
He added, “It’s been up and down with that . . . Honestly, I’m just happy that we won today.”
It will take a lot more winning — and scoring — to turn this season around. But it’s nice to have a few guys on board who have done it before.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
