New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette announced that winger Artemi Panarin suffered a lower-body injury during Tuesday’s 6-4 win over the New York Islanders.
Lower-body injury for Artemi Panarin, who is still being evaluated, according to Peter Laviolette… #NYR
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) September 25, 2024
Panarin left partway through the third period of the game, although the reason for his departure remains unknown. Laviolette also mentioned after the game that Panarin is still being evaluated, meaning that we will know more about the severity of the injury and the timeline for return soon.
If Panarin will miss a significant amount of time, it will be a massive blow to their lineup. He’s coming off a season that would have been MVP-caliber in any year but last year, as he had a career-high of 49 goals, along with 71 assists, for a career-high of 120 points in 82 games.
Panarin also had 5 goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 16 playoff games as the Rangers lost to the Florida Panthers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final.
UPDATE: Ryan Lindgren (upper body) will not return tonight.
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) September 25, 2024
Defenseman Ryan Lindgren also suffered an injury in the win, as he left early in the first period with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. He played just two shifts before leaving after getting into a fight with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield. There is also no word on the severity of the injury or the timeline for return for Lindgren.
If Lindgren also misses some time, it will be another big hit to the Rangers lineup. He’s been a consistent staple in their top four for the better part of the past five years, and is coming off a season where he had 3 goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 76 regular season games, as well as 3 assists in 16 playoff games.
Mayfield hit on Chytil pic.twitter.com/1zXSxYQFsp
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) September 24, 2024
The fight started after Mayfield had hit center Filip Chytil in open ice, mainly connecting with the lower body. It was another injury scare for the Rangers, as Chytil had to be helped off the ice and put no weight on his left leg. However, he returned late in the first period, and played out the rest of the game. While his return should mean that he is good to go going forward, there may possibly be more updates depending on if something wasn’t noticeable to him or the Rangers’ medical staff.
Chytil has already dealt with his fair share of injury troubles recently, only getting into 10 games with the Rangers last season where he had just 6 assists, as well as being held pointless in just 6 playoff games.
The Rangers have now won both of their preseason games, also beating the Boston Bruins by a score of 3-2 on Sunday. New York will next get into action when they host the Bruins on Thursday at 7 p.m. EST.
