Chicago 5, NY Rangers 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Referees:
Brian Pochmara, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Devin Berg
Attendance:
18006
By The Sports Xchange
NEW YORK -- Rookie left winger Artemi Panarin does not speak English. Instead, he let his play do the talking at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
The Russia native recorded his first career hat trick, which included a tie-breaking goal with three minutes remaining, as the Chicago Blackhawks rallied for a 5-3 victory in a back-and-forth affair with the New York Rangers.
The 24-year-old Panarin is the front-runner for the Calder Trophy. He leads all rookies in goals (22) and points (57) in a season when many expected 2015 top picks Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres to be vying for Calder honors.
Panarin has been a godsend for the Blackhawks. He is second on the team in scoring behind right winger Patrick Kane, filling the void after the team lost left wingers Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad as salary-cap casualties during the offseason.
"He's been great for us," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The consistency, the power play, the puck-possession game. From day one, he's been fun to watch."
"He's a special player," said Kane, who had the primary assist on the game-winning power-play goal. "He's got a good shot. He's good with the puck. It's good to see him get rewarded for his good play too. He's been a great fit for us. He's one of those players that's maybe exceeded some expectations coming in. Great find by the organization. We're happy to have him here."
The Blackhawks (38-18-5) have won two straight games. The reigning Stanley Cup champions will have their meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday morning before heading to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Wild in an outdoor game at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus Sunday.
This will mark the third straight year the Blackhawks take part in an outdoor game.
"It's good for us to get away from the game and do some different things," Kane said. "We're able to do that tomorrow just by going to the White House and being able to meet the President and be part of that whole ceremony."
"I'm sure Minnesota will be sky high about playing in that game as well," Quenneville said. "It's a privilege to play in games like that."
Through the first half of the game, it appeared the Blackhawks would meet little resistance before heading into their White House coronation and outdoor game break.
Left winger Andrew Desjardins put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 at the 3:30 mark of the first period and Panarin's first of two power-play goals at 10:05 of the second period extended the lead to 2-0.
Rangers center and former Blackhawk Kevin Hayes cut the lead in half less than four minutes later after left winger Oscar Lindberg set him up with a perfect pass from behind the goal line.
The Rangers (32-19-6) took a 3-2 lead early in the third period on power-play goals by center Derick Brassard and defenseman Dan Boyle, who both scored while right winger Vincent Hinostroza was serving a four-minute penalty for high sticking.
The Rangers' lead would not last, as left winger Andrew Shaw made it 3-3 with another power-play goal at 9:53, setting the stage for Panarin's winner and empty-net goal with 1:11 remaining.
"We played a good game," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We outshot them (34-20) and out-chanced them. Unfortunately, on our PK, we made three bad reads and the puck ended up in the back of the net."
"I have to come up with the extra save," Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. "When we are good, we are reading off one another. Together, we need to figure this one out. It's not one guy, it's not two; it's four plus me that need to figure it out and get better."
NOTES: Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa (lower body) is expected to miss a couple weeks. ... Blackhawks D Erik Gustafsson took the spot of D Viktor Svedberg after missing the past two games. ... Rangers D Ryan McDonagh returned after missing four games with a concussion. ... Rangers LW Rick Nash missed his 10th consecutive game with a bone bruise in his leg. ... Rangers D Marc Staal was absent from the lineup and did not take part in warmups. He and his wife are expecting their second child Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
Chicago |
|
NY Rangers |
Artemi Panarin 3 |
Points |
Kevin Hayes 2 |
Artemi Panarin 3 |
Goals |
Kevin Hayes 1 |
Teuvo Teravainen 2 |
Assists |
Kevin Hayes 1 |
Artemi Panarin 2 |
Power Play Goals |
Dan Boyle 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Corey Crawford .912 |
Save Percentage |
Henrik Lundqvist .789 |
Corey Crawford 31 |
Saves |
Henrik Lundqvist 15 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Chicago
|
20 |
5 |
3-4 |
0-2 |
4 |
26 |
NY Rangers
|
34 |
3 |
2-2 |
1-4 |
8 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
NY Rangers will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Rangers have a W/L % of .515 after a win and .625 after a loss.
-
Chicago will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .658 after a win and .565 after a loss.