PHILADELPHIA — All is well in Artemi Panarin’s world.
The Rangers’ biggest moves at the trade deadline have been the acquisitions of two of his friends, Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. Speaking moments after Tarasenko capped a three-point night with the overtime goal that beat the Flyers, 3-2, Panarin was almost giddy about Thursday’s Garden debut of Kane.
Asked his reaction when he heard Kane was a done deal, Panarin smiled and said sarcastically, “Pissed off … no … it’s awesome. [He’s a] great player and we played great together in Chicago.
“We just see hockey the same. We just feel comfortable [with each other]. I hope the feeling is still in us.”
Panarin says he’s been in touch with Kane since Tuesday’s trade. “Not much … I can text … smiley [emojis].”
Fans aren’t the only ones who might be feeling star-struck by the Rangers’ trade for Kane.
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That same sentiment is shared by some of his new teammates, with Filip Chytil saying Kane was his idol as he grew up in the Czech Republic.
“When you’re a forward and scoring goals as a kid … you always are following the players who can score the clutch goal, who are scoring the important goals, winning trophies,” the 23-year-old center of the Kid Line said. “I don’t know how many times in the playoffs he won a game for the Blackhawks.
“Every time I woke up in the morning it was the first thing I was watching. It was unbelievable for me when I was a kid that I could watch that, and now he’s part of us, which is great.”
Igor Shesterkin stopped 24 of 26 shots for his second game in a row with two goals allowed.
This comes after a string of four games in which he had yielded at least four goals, and seven games in which he had given up at least three.
Adam Fox was the Rangers’ ice time leader at 28:25, and all five available defensemen logged more than 20 minutes.
