Following a beautiful power-play goal, New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin suffered a mild groin strain and would not return.
The New York Rangers suffered a slight scare during their game against the New Jersey Devils Wednesday night. Artemi Panarin left the bench in the second period with what was diagnosed as a mild groin strain and would not return for the rest of the game.
Panarin had just scored a power-play goal on a blast from the top of the left circle that cut the Devils lead to 2-1. Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko assisted on the play. The Garden was rocking.
Artemi Panarin notches his first on Broadway, on the power-play.
Not sure how anybody can think the Rangers, with these new additions, aren't at least playoff competitive. Depth is an issue, but talent is in the house. #NYR pic.twitter.com/yP7W3RZBlo
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) September 19, 2019
The fun didn’t last long as Panarin was noticeably missing from the bench a few shifts later. Chris Kreider took his spot on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Kakko.
The Rangers announced the news prior to the start of the third period. The club had no further information about the injury.
There is no rush to get him back for preseason games, and it would be prudent to rest him to make sure this injury doesn’t linger into the regular season.
The Rangers already know what they have in the winger and he showed exactly what he’s capable of in the second period. His work on the power play was all Rangers fans needed to see.
There’s no need to risk further injury for preseason games. He looks comfortable in a Rangers sweater already.
New York’s next game is Friday night against the same Devils at the Prudential Center.
