Artemi Panarin back in New York as Kings meet Rangers
Artemi Panarin will get his first chance to face his former team when the New York Rangers host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
In a cost-cutting move, Panarin was traded to Los Angeles from New York on Feb. 4 in exchange for forward prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The Kings immediately signed the 34-year-old forward to a two-year, $22 million contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
Panarin spent 6 1/2 seasons with the Rangers, leading them in points in each of his first six full seasons and ranking ninth in points (607) and eighth in assists (402) on the franchise's all-time list.
He owns the franchise record for highest points-per-game average (1.26).
Panarin has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 10 games with the Kings so far.
He had his first three-point game for Los Angeles on Saturday on the road against the New Jersey Devils, tallying a goal and two assists. But the Kings lost 6-4 to prevent them from winning two in a row for the first time since a three-game winning streak Jan. 20-27.
Still, the Kings entered Sunday just one point out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
"Every guy in that room knows where we want to go and we've got to push and give ourselves a win (on Monday)," Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said.
Kings forward Anze Kopitar scored two goals against New Jersey to become the team's all-time leading point scorer (1,308), surpassing Marcel Dionne, who held the record for 45 years. It was the future Hall of Famer's first multi-goal effort of the season.
"We're right in the thick of things right now, so there's not a whole lot of time to think about that," Kopitar said of the record.
The Kings beat the Rangers 4-3 in Los Angeles on Jan. 20 and they'll be trying to finish 4-0 against the New York teams this season.
The Rangers won their season-high fourth game in a row on Saturday, getting 46 saves from Igor Shesterkin and a goal and two assists from former Los Angeles defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in a 4-2 win at the Minnesota Wild.
"We were playing a north-south game. We were playing a straight-ahead game," Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think when we play fast, we are fast."
The Rangers, who were shut out in three of their first five games this season, have scored at least four goals in every game during the winning streak, but still sit 25th in the league at 2.82 goals per game.
"For a lot of the first half of the year, we couldn't see the puck go in the net," New York captain J.T. Miller said. "Right now, we're executing on a lot of the plays. Obviously, we've got some guys stepping up and playing really well also. Just high execution. Finally getting those pucks to go in the net that we were missing in the first half of the year."
The Rangers will play 11 of their next 13 games at home before finishing the season on a three-game road trip.
Not enough time to get back in the playoff race, but enough to set a positive tone for next season.
"There's a good feeling around here right now," Miller said. "It's been a hard year but feels good to win some games and try to string some together."