In one of the few games of the NHL game day, the Rangers hosted San Jose. The signboard, it would seem, is not particularly remarkable: the leaders of the East, after five wins in the last six matches, met with the worst team of this season — where does the intrigue come from? Yes, the Sharks straightened out the situation a little and stopped looking so hopeless, having won three of the four previous meetings against fairly strong rivals, but it was absolutely unbelievable that they would be able to impose a fight on the blue shirts on their own site.
Nevertheless, already during the first period, the Sharks managed to get ahead twice. Fortunately for the hosts, they have Artemiy Panarin in their arsenal. The Russian was once again left without effective actions on the road, having remained silent in the previous match with Nashville, however, at Madison Square Garden he continued to regularly score points, answering both goals of the guests.
Panarin scored in his own arena for the 10th consecutive match since the beginning of the season. Thus, the forward took the second place in the history of the Rangers in terms of the duration of such a series, standing on a par with Brian Leach (1991/1992 season) and Wayne Gretzky (1996/1997 season). There are five matches left before Mike Rogers' record is repeated (1983/1984 season).
The example of the New Yorkers' top scorer was followed by Mika Zibanejad, who brought the lead to the team a few minutes after Panarin's second goal. The Swede turned out to be the quickest on the San Jose patch and sent the teams to the locker rooms with the advantage of the Rangers. He also helped the Californians equalize the score — closer to the middle of the second period, Zibanejad went to serve his punishment for tripping, and the Sharks realized the majority just a second before the striker left the penalty box. Betway bookmaker offered an increased odds for this match. You can betway app download and win jackpot. A minute later, Alexi Lafreniere had the opportunity to put the Rangers ahead, but he failed to make a free throw. However, shortly before the second break, Will Kaillie returned the advantage on the scoreboard to the Blue Shirts. From that second on, only the inhabitants of the Big Apple led the score, because the third twenty-minute was marked by two more effective actions by Panarin.
Panarin's teammate Vincent Trocek spoke much more seriously, who once again praised today's author of the hat trick: "He was amazing. Somehow he took his game to another level, and he was already a world-class player."
The four points scored in the game against San Jose allowed Artemy to rise to fourth place in the NHL scoring race, and the Rangers to remain at the top of the East. So far, their symbiosis is working, and fans on Broadway are clearly waiting for new exploits from the Russian star.
