The New York Rangers have fought through adversity in the first fourteen games of their season to begin the year with an astounding record of 11-2-1. The Blueshirts’ most recent victory came last night in a close shootout win, a historic game for Rangers’ star forward Artemi Panarin.
Panarin has been the best offensive player since joining the Rangers in 2019, and he appears to be on pace for the best season of his career. With 24 points in just 14 games, he’s been on an absolute tear. The Rangers’ second line as a whole has been incredible, but Panarin himself has been chasing a long-time record set decades ago by Rangers legend Rod Gilbert.
Panarin’s current point streak has tied the Rangers’ franchise record to start a season
Back in the 1972-73 season, Rod Gilbert scored at least one point in each of the first 14 games of the year. This set the franchise record point streak to begin a season, a record that Panarin has been aggressively chasing down.
With an assist on Alexis Lafreniere’s first goal of the game last night, Panarin successfully tied Gilbert’s record in the 14th matchup of the season.
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Panarin is staying humble throughout historic stretch of play
While on this 14-game point streak, Panarin has stayed quiet when asked about his point streak. There’s the possibility that he isn’t trying to jinx anything, but it appears that he’s truly remaining humble and appreciative of the support his line mates are giving him.
Per Vince Mercogliano, when asked about his 14-game point streak, Panarin continued to just refer to his teammates as his “partners and friends” and thanked them for their support.
The level of class shown by Panarin is welcoming. Remaining humble and refusing to brag about his elite play isn’t something you’d see in other major sports leagues.
The Rangers will have to wait a week to see if the record will be beaten
Following last night’s victory over Columbus, the Rangers are now entering their bye week and will not play again until November 18th. The Blueshirts’ next matchup will be against the New Jersey Devils, a game that will be a close divisional battle.
It’s poetic that Panarin has the opportunity to set a new franchise record against the Devils. His poor performance against New Jersey last postseason is what sparked the Panarin bald-driven revenge tour this season, and he will look to reach an incredible 15-game point streak to start the season against the same team.
