Ex-Rangers star Artemi Panarin has 2 points in familiar-looking Kings debut
The black-and-white uniform was a distinct new look, but much about Artemi Panarin’s debut with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night seemed awfully familiar to what the star forward was accustomed to with the New York Rangers in recent seasons.
Panarin recorded two assists, logged more than 21 minutes of ice-time, and had a healthy expected goal share with new linemates Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere. However, it wasn’t enough for the Kings, who surrendered five third-period goals and let a 2-1 lead devolve into a 6-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice at Crypto.com Arena.
Try and tell me you haven’t see that scenario play out far too often for Panarin and the Rangers this season and last.
In fact, that’s part of the reason why the Rangers traded Panarin to the Kings three weeks ago, right before the Olympic break and NHL roster freeze. The last-place Rangers (22-29-6) opted to move their best offensive player to help restock their prospects pipeline, notably acquiring former first-round pick Liam Greentree in the deal.
Like the Rangers, the Kings are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL. Unlike the Rangers, they’re in the thick of the playoff race, right now three points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference.
So, did Panarin feel any extra pressure in his Kings debut?
“[My] career has been full of pressure a lot of the time, so [I’m] used to that pressure. [I’ll] continue getting used to the system,” Panarin said postgame through an interpreter.
It didn’t take long for The Breadman to ingratiate himself with his new team. He assisted on Quinton Byfield’s power-play goal 14:31 into the first period, with a pretty cross-ice slap-pass.
That goal tied the score 1-1 at the time, and Panarin then assisted on a gorgeous tic-tac-toe goal scored by Kempe at even strength to make it 2-1 Kings at 14:44 of the second period.
Former Rangers star Artemi Panarin called ‘great player’ after Kings debut
Though that pretty passing play on the Kempe goal featured a mixed line with Anze Kopitar, Panarin skated most of 5v5 shifts with Kempe and Laferriere. That threesome had an xGF of 57.7 percent, per Natural Stat Trick, and had an 11-7 advantage in scoring chances, including 4-1 in the high-danger variety.
However, they were on ice when Panarin’s former Rangers teammate Reilly Smith scored 12:21 into the third period to put Vegas up 4-2. Panarin was also on ice in the closing minutes for Brandt Clarke’s 6-on-5 goal for the Kings, and Ivan Barbashev’s game-sealer for Vegas into an empty net.
“I think he gave us what he’s going to give us,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said afterward. “That line together, despite playing their first game, I thought looked like they had chemistry. They moved the puck between the three of them pretty well, so that’s probably the positive from the evening. But he’s a great player. You saw that tonight and you’ve seen that for the last 10-12 years in the League.”
The day before making his Kings debut, Panarin penned a heartfelt message on social media, thanking the Rangers and their fans for his seven seasons on Broadway. Panarin had 607 points (205 goals, 402 assists) in 482 regular-season games with the Rangers, and his 1.26 points-per-game average is best in franchise history.
He returns to Madison Square Garden with the Kings to play the Rangers on March 16.
“I’m a little nervous to think about coming back in March, but I’m looking forward and can’t wait to see you all!” Panarin said in his post Tuesday.
