Artemi Panarin was injured in a preseason game and did not return to the ice.
head coach”Rangers» Peter Laviolettemaybe they decided to win all the friendlies so that his team would be confident in official matches. It seems that the plan is reliable, because a successful series always motivates hockey players. However, after beating Boston by a short margin, Laviolette decided to play his stars and leaders against the Islanders.
In the end, the Rangers won the battle for New York, but they lost much more – Artemi Panarin and a key defender.
No confidence in stability
Before the start of every regular season, Rangers fans believe that their team will be able to take the major league trophy. Last season, Laviolette’s team was very close to the main stage of the playoffs, but the New York club was stopped from competing for the Stanley Cup by Florida: the Panthers won the finals of the Eastern Conference ( 4-2).
However, before the start of the 2024/25 season, fans will have less confidence in good results. This is related to Igor Shesterkin, who has not yet agreed with Rangers management on a new contract. According to various insiders, the Vezina Trophy winner is expected to earn $10.5 million a year, which would make him the highest-paid goaltender in the league. New York will do anything to contain Russia, but so far the parties are not even close to an agreement. The Athletic reports that if an agreement is not reached by October 9, negotiations will be suspended until the end of the season.
Fans are concerned that the story with the contract for the team’s number one could affect the results of the club. However, this is far from the main problem for Rangers. Fans should be concerned about the fallout from the preseason games, in which Laviolette could have missed two starts.
Two injuries per game
And while no one is immune to injuries, fans have questions for the Rangers head coach. In the first freight train, Laviolette dropped far from the main team; the specialist looked through the prospects and young players. However, many of the team captains took part in the game against the Islanders. For some reason, Laviolette wanted to join the best hockey players in the New York Derby. The participation of the stars in the main meeting surprised many, because the same Spencer Carbery had not yet invited his captain Alexander Ovechkin to the pre-season meetings.
As a result, already at the beginning of the first period, the Rangers lost one of their best defenders, Ryan Lindgren. He only played two shifts, got into a fight with Scott Mayfield and left the court. Lindgren reportedly suffered an “upper body injury” and it is unknown when he will return. If he is out of line for a long time, it will hit the team hard. Last season, Ryan barely left the top 4, and he also played 76 games and scored 17 (3 + 14) points with a convenient mark of “+22”.
Ryan Lindgren / Photo: © Scott Taetsch / Contributor / Getty Images Sports / Gettyimages.ru
The Rangers’ troubles did not end there. In the third period, Artemiy Panarin left the bench and went to the locker room. After the game, Laviolette announced that Panarin had suffered a lower body injury. There was no word on the extent of the damage or the return time.
If Russia needs a long recovery, the club will have big problems. Last season, Artemy (49 + 71) led the team’s attack, being the main scorer. His closest pursuer, Vincent Trocheck, scored 43 fewer points! In addition, under Lavioletta, our partner broke his own sniping record last regular season.
And before the start of the 2024/25 season, experts named Panarin and Nikita Kucherov as the best wing forwards in the league. It was expected from the first official games that Artemy would lead the Rangers to the President’s Cup, and then help the Blueshirts in the playoffs. However, it is unknown at this time when Panarin will return to the lineup.
The fans didn’t like that Laviolette lost the leaders out of the blue.
“I hope he’s okay and they’re just taking extra care because it’s preseason,” wrote DrRafaelPenguin.
“It’s always nice to lose your stars in completely meaningless games,” xXxWeAreTheEndxXx says ironically.
“Preseason is such a waste of time,” says BeerNerdActual.
2024-09-25 09:43:03
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