Don't Be Discouraged! Panarin Is Still Among The Best Of The Best
Artemi Panarin may have failed to get on the score sheet for the first time this season 16 games in, but he is still high on the list in points per game(1.63), ranking in third behind Jack Hughes(2.00) and David Pastrnak(1.71).
For the players who played at least 15 games, Panarin ranks second behind Pastrnak.
Panarin still managed to accomplish an amazing feat of breaking the record for longest season-opening point streak in Rangers history with 15 games, held previously by Rod Gilbert at 14 consecutive opening games.
His scoring pace is still extraordinary. If it holds, he will accumulate 51 goals, 82 assists, and 133 points total off an 82 game projection.
He didn't score his 10th goal last year until January 1st, which was their 38th game of the season.
As much as I would have loved to have seen Panarin score in every game, that was clearly unrealistic.
Plus he didn't have a bad game yesterday. The score sheet doesn't give the full story of how well he plays on a night-to-night basis.
He will bounce back in a big way tomorrow against Pittsburgh. That's what great players do!
