As the new NHL season begins, New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin has seamlessly continued his impressive performance from last season. He and the Rangers aim to build on their strong start as they face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
Last season, Panarin was a standout player, leading the Rangers with a career-high 49 goals and totaling 120 points over 82 regular-season games, just three assists shy of his personal best. He finished fourth in the NHL for points and fifth for goals.
Now, three weeks into the new season, Panarin, who will turn 33 on Wednesday, leads the Rangers with 15 points (six goals and nine assists) and has not yet gone scoreless in any of the eight games. He nearly doubles the points of his closest teammates, Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Fox, both with eight.
“He was elite for us last year,” said coach Peter Laviolette. “In the last game against the Anaheim Ducks, it felt like he was always in possession of the puck. He puts in a lot of effort to create opportunities and battles that result in him getting the puck. Once he has it, he can maintain control and set up the next play or scoring chance… His elite skill level was evident last season and continues to be this year.”
The Rangers have carried over their success from last season, starting this campaign with a record of 6-1-1 before facing the Capitals, having suffered their first regulation loss on October 24 against the Florida Panthers. They previously scored at least four goals in each game prior to that loss, then rebounded with a 2-1 victory over the Ducks. After finishing seventh in the NHL for goals last season with 278, they entered Monday tied for fourth with 34 goals, on track for nearly 350 this season.
While the Rangers are expected to perform well, the Capitals’ strong start has been unexpected. Washington is off to a 5-2-0 record and had won five straight games before losing 3-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
“The past few years, they’ve been a good benchmark team for the league, for the East, and for our division,” said forward Tom Wilson of New York. “We know it’s going to be a tough game, so we need to be sharp and stick to our game plan. We want to demonstrate that we can compete with the best teams in the league.”
Wilson has been particularly effective, leading the Capitals with five goals in seven games, a pace that would far exceed his career-high of 24 from the 2021-22 season. Dylan Strome tops the team in total scoring with nine points (three goals and six assists), just ahead of Connor McMichael, who has three goals and five assists.
