Imagine, if you will, a world where Mika Zibanejad and not Artemi Panarin had scored the series-winner in Game 7 against the Penguins. Or for that matter, anyone other than Panarin.
When you put that moment aside, it is harder than it should be to come up with the last game Panarin looked like himself. Game 2 against the Penguins, when he scored a goal with two assists, was over three weeks ago.
It’s easy to understand why Panarin has looked like a toned-down version of himself — he explained it early on in the Rangers’ second-round series against Carolina. He thrives on risk-taking, open hockey. That is not how the game is played this late into May.
But we are talking about a player who finished fourth in the league in assists this season, who had a career high 96 points and who the Rangers are paying over $11 million. So it does not quite cut it to shrug and say his style doesn’t necessarily translate to the postseason.