GLENDALE, Ariz. — Artemi Panarin went to the locker room early in the second period of the Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Coyotes Wednesday night with what head coach Gerard Gallant described as a “minor lower-body” injury.
It is unclear what led to Panarin’s early exit after he took just one shift in the middle frame, but Gallant didn’t seem all too concerned and categorized Panarin as “day-to-day.”
“In the middle of the game, you see that happening, you know that on the bench,” Mika Zibanejad said of when his teammates saw Panarin leave the game. “You don’t want to lose anyone, but obviously him and his caliber it’s tough to lose him. But at the same time, we got to do a job and try to — you can’t really fill that void. You don’t have a guy like Artemi, rarely. I wouldn’t say anyone in the league is like him.
“You just got to do it collectively and just whoever plays in that spot just do the best of his ability and just keep going.”
Losing Panarin for any amount of time would be a major blow to the Rangers’ offense, which has hit a rut in recent games. Panarin currently leads the Rangers with nine goals and 24 assists for a team-high 33 points.
Goalie Keith Kinkaid made his season debut in the win over the Coyotes, turning aside 29 of the 31 shots he faced.
“It was awesome,” Kinkaid said playing his first game for the Rangers since May 8 last season against the Bruins. “I think it’s been like two and a half weeks since I had a game, let alone an NHL game. So I just had to get in the mode a little bit and I think I settled down after the first a little bit, little jitters. Overall, felt pretty confident.”
Igor Shesterkin missed a seventh straight game Wednesday as the Rangers’ No. 1 netminder continues to work his way back from a suspected groin injury.
Though he is still on injured reserve, Shesterkin made the trip out west with the team and participated in morning skate before the Rangers’ 4-2 loss to the Avalanche Tuesday night. It’s unclear if he skated Wednesday as well.
As a result, backup Alexandar Georgiev has gotten the starting nod in four of the last five games before the game. Over that span, Georgiev has allowed eight goals and posted a 3-1 record to go along with 135 total saves.
Georgiev’s extended time between the pipes has been beneficial for both the Bulgarian-born netminder and the Rangers. The consistent starts has elevated Georgiev’s confidence and allowed him to find his game after so many scattered appearances through the first quarter of the season. At the same time, Georgiev is getting a chance to up his trade value a bit if that’s the route the Rangers want to take.