Earlier Friday night in Detroit, Artemi Panarin once again proved that a change in style might just be his secret weapon.
The New York Rangers forward, debuting a freshly shaved head, posted a three-point performance in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena which was his first multi-point effort in nearly two weeks.
After the game, Panarin downplayed any mystical connection between his new look and his breakout night.
“I hope so,” he said with a laugh, per NY Post’s Mollie Walker. “Just one game. It’s not, like, make me a better hockey player, but more ugly for sure.”
The win was a strong bounce-back for Panarin who snapped a six-game pointless streak by assisting on Will Cuylle’s first-period power-play goal, a long-awaited breakthrough for a Rangers unit that had gone 0-for-12 with the man advantage across five games. Cuylle’s tally came just 17 seconds into New York’s first opportunity of the night.
Panarin then set up Noah Laba’s go-ahead goal early in the second period before sealing the Rangers’ victory himself with a third-period strike which was his third point of the night and his fifth goal of the season.
Alexis Lafreniere added a goal and assist reaching the 200-point mark for his career, while Jonathan Quick turned aside 31 of 32 shots in another standout performance earning his 701st career win.
Detroit’s lone goal came from J.T. Compher with former Ranger Patrick Kane nearly finding the net midway through the second after a turnover from Quick only for Braden Schneider to hustle back and disrupt the play.
Mike Sullivan claims Rangers’ top players ‘care a lot’
The Rangers, now 7-1-1 on the road, continued to look sharp under head coach Mike Sullivan, who tweaked the team’s special teams units ahead of the matchup.
“Our best players were our best players. I think that’s an important element of the game tonight. These guys, they care a lot. I’ve been saying that for a while now,” he said during the post-game interview.
“They care a lot. It hasn’t been for a lack of effort that we haven’t generated the offense from a goal-scoring standpoint. I think they’re very capable and they showed that tonight.”
New York’s night wasn’t without a scare. Cuylle briefly exited after blocking a shot to the knee but returned minutes later. Rookie Jaroslav Chmelar also made his NHL debut, later dropping the gloves with Travis Hamonic in the third period.
Edited by Anjum Rajonno
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