The New York Rangers won their first seven games this postseason thanks to timely scoring, excellent play on special teams, and Igor Shesterkin’s elite play in goal. However, they have lost two consecutive games to the Carolina Hurricanes including a lackluster performance at home in Game 5 which cut their series lead to 3-2. The team’s star players did not deliver and in order to win Game 6, Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox must step up.
Artemi Panarin
Coming into this postseason, Panarin had seven goals and 13 assists in 30 playoff games with the Rangers. While those numbers are not bad, he struggled defensively and his offensive production was disappointing considering his elite play in the regular season since signing with the Blueshirts ahead of the 2019-20 season. He did score a clutch overtime goal in Game 7 of the team’s first-round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021-22.
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This postseason Panarin has played better and he has scored some very important goals. He scored a go-ahead power-play goal in the third period in Game 4 of the Rangers’ first-round matchup with the Washington Capitals. He also scored an overtime goal with a gorgeous deflection in the team’s 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 3 of their second-round matchup.
In total, Panarin has four goals and five assists in nine games this postseason. However, the last two games have been rough ones for him as he finished with just one shot on goal in each of them and made some defensive mistakes. He was minus-3 in Game 4 and minus-2 in Game 5. He allowed his man to simply outwork him and score on a rebound when the score was tied at one in the third period of Game 5.
The way Panarin played in the last two games resembled the way he played last postseason, which is not a good thing. Even on the power play he was sloppy with the puck and allowed the Hurricanes to clear it out of the defensive zone. He needs to be sharper, make better decisions with the puck, and create scoring opportunities. On the power play, he needs to get shots through from the point and give Chris Kreider an opportunity to score on a deflection or rebound.
Adam Fox
Two postseasons ago, Fox was brilliant for the Rangers as he helped lead them on a run to the Eastern Conference Final. He had five goals and 18 assists in 20 games and he played excellent defense along with his defense partner Ryan Lindgren. He also had eight assists in seven games last postseason and played well except for a rough Game 7 against the New Jersey Devils.
This postseason, Nick Jensen of the Capitals kneed Fox in Game 4 of their first-round series, and though he stayed in the game and has yet to miss time, at times he has looked like he is not moving very well. He has still made some big defensive plays, including breaking up a couple of odd-man-rushes last game but he has yet to break out offensively. He has no goals and four assists in nine playoff games.
While Fox may not be 100 percent healthy, the Rangers need him to create some offense. He has struggled on the power play and like Panarin, has not gotten enough shots on goal from the point, though he has shown encouraging signs with six shots on goal over the last two games. He also has made some giveaways which allowed the Hurricanes to easily clear the puck. He needs to break out offensively in Game 6.
For Panarin and Fox Moving Forward
For the first time this postseason, the Rangers are facing adversity against a very tough Hurricanes team. They had their worst performance of the postseason in Game 5 as they were completely outworked. Now they need to respond in Game 6 and they will rely on Panarin and Fox to lead the way. Both of them are capable of producing offensively and they can erase any frustration from the last two games if they find a way to close out the series in Game 6.
