“Turning point in the game” – Artemi Panarin keen on following Alexei Kovalev’s footsteps to win Stanley Cup with Rangers
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Alexei Kovalev and Artemi Panarin
The legendary hockey reporter, Stan Fischler in his “Then and Now” featured forwards Artemi Panarin and Alexei Kovalev’s friendship story and how Panarin has been following up with Kovalev to lead the New York Rangers in winning the Stanley Cup playoffs. Both of the Russian-born forwards have been with the Rangers for quite some time.
Panarin participated in his 4th season with the team, whereas, Kovalev played 9 seasons in 2 stints with the Rangers. They have been close together and the 30-year-old stated that he is eager on following the 1994 Cup hero’s path to lead the team, just like he did back in the day. Kovalev even took the young forward on his single-engine plane ride and shared their photo together.
Artemi Panarin excited to lead the Rangers to their first Cup victory since 1994
Both have unique styles to their plays, and often Panarin’s playstyle is related to ex-NHL player Kovalev’s style. The 49-year-old had recorded 1,029 points with 430 goals and 599 assists in 1,316 games with the Rangers, Penguins, Canadiens, Senators, and Panthers. On the other hand, Panarin scored 569 points with 187 goals and 382 assists in 508 games with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Rangers.
Kovalev led the Rangers to clinch the Stanley Cup back in 1994. Devils forward Bernie Nicholls said about the 1994 victory, as per nhl.com, “That shot was the turning point in the game”. “Kovalev took the momentum from us and gave it to them. After that, Mark Messier won the game for them in the third period.”
In contrast, Artemi Panarin signed with the Blackhawks and scored 77 points in 80 games, which earned him the Calder Trophy as NHL’s top rookie. After his trade to Blue Jackets, he recorded 82 and 87 points in two NHL seasons before being selected by the Rangers. Rangers president John Davidson noted, “Artemi is only 27 and has averaged 80 points over the last four seasons. Since he wants to be here in New York, it’s a perfect fit.”
Last season, he scored 74 assists and 94 points and had his career-best with the Rangers. His next goal is pretty obvious. He wishes to take the team to the Cup Finale and sip the champagne, as Kovalev did after his Stanley Cup victory. In the previous season, he led the team to reach the Eastern Conference Finals where he, unfortunately, lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games. Though he believes he can get his job done and maybe fly with Kovalev on his plane once again.
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2194 Articles Published)