The New York Rangers announced that star forward Artemi Panarin will be sidelined for the foreseeable future with a lower-body injury.
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Artemi Panarin Injured
During Monday’s game against the Washington Capitals, Panarin was injured in an altercation with Capitals forward Tom Wilson. Panarin responded after Wilson punched Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich in the head. During their scuffle, Wilson body-slammed Panarin to the ground. Panarin left shortly after with a lower-body injury.
So far this season, Panarin has scored 17 goals and 41 assists for 58 points to go along with 4 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 60 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 15.6.
Over his six-year NHL career, Panarin has played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers. He has 165 goals and 306 assists for 471 career points in 432 career games. Panarin was signed by the Blackhawks before the start of the 2015-16 season.
Head coach David Quinn said Panarin was “Okay” after the game. This meaning there was no serious injury on the play.
What This Means for the Future
With Artemi Panarin injured, the Rangers will need to experiment with their top line as soon as possible. This could mean the promotion of Alexis Lafreniere to the first line. While the Rangers officially eliminated from playoff contention, losing their star player will hurt for the remainder of the season. Tom Wilson received a $5,000 fine for his role in the injury. Panarin is one of the NHL’s top players. Without him, the Rangers — and the NHL as a whole — miss out on a lot of excitement.
With a lack of a Wilson suspension, the officiating for the following game should be strict, as to avoid any escalation. Despite having no chance of making the playoffs, losing Panarin is a huge blow to the Rangers locker room.
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