Panarin’s Epic Comeback Silences Doubters: Rangers Stun Hurricanes in Thrilling 4-2 Victory
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Lenovo Center was supposed to be a house of horrors for the New York Rangers on Wednesday night, a place where their fading playoff hopes would be buried under the relentless forecheck of the conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes.
Artemi Panarin, the slick Russian winger often dismissed as an “undersized lightweight” too fragile for the grind of elite hockey, had been mired in a slump that mirrored his team’s dismal start to the 2025-26 season.
With just seven points in 13 games and whispers of trade rumors swirling like autumn leaves in Madison Square Garden, the Rangers entered the night as heavy underdogs, their record hovering around .500 after a string of uninspired losses.
But hockey, that beautiful chaos of ice and ambition, has a way of rewriting narratives in the span of 60 minutes.
What unfolded was nothing short of a resurrection—a 4-2 comeback win that left 18,000 Canes fans gasping, their red sea of jerseys parting in stunned silence as the final buzzer echoed.
Panarin, at the heart of it all, tallied a goal and an assist, his laser one-timer in the second period flipping the script on a game Carolina thought they had locked down.
Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers’ stoic Russian netminder, turned away 36 shots, his glove hand snatching hope from the Hurricanes’ top guns. And behind this improbable surge? A deeper thread, woven from the boardroom of Madison Square Garden, where owner James L.
Dolan once gambled everything on a promise to himself: to build a winner around a star who could redefine Broadway’s blues.
The game itself was a masterclass in resilience, the kind that ignites social media and morning talk shows alike. Carolina struck first in the opening frame, rookie sensation Noah Laba rifling a wrister past Shesterkin at 3:07 to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Hurricanes, riding high atop the Metropolitan Division with their suffocating neutral-zone trap and league-best power play, smelled blood. They dominated puck possession early, outshooting New York 13-3 in the period, but Shesterkin’s acrobatic denies—robbing Seth Jarvis on a breakaway and stacking pads against Andrei Svechnikov—kept the Rangers’ pulse flickering.
The second period turned into a penalty-riddled slugfest, with both sides trading infractions like barbs in a heated debate.
Panarin drew his own ire early, sitting for tripping at 8:16, but the Rangers killed it off, their penalty kill unit—anchored by gritty center Vincent Trocheck—clearing the zone with the ferocity of a street fight.
Carolina capitalized on their own man-advantage when Shayne Gostisbehere teed up a slapper from the point at 12:45, knotting the score at 1-1 and restoring the roar. The building thrummed with expectation; this was the Hurricanes’ script, the one where they grind down pretenders and cruise to another regulation win.
Then came Panarin. With 1:04 left in the middle frame, following a neutral-zone faceoff win by Trocheck, J.T. Miller—acquired in a blockbuster offseason deal—whipped a puck back to defenseman Adam Fox at the blue line.
Fox, ever the quarterback, threaded a diagonal saucer pass through traffic to Panarin lurking in the left circle. The Bread Man didn’t hesitate. His snap shot, clocked at 92 mph, zipped five-hole past Frederik Andersen, who got a piece but not enough.
The Rangers’ bench erupted; Panarin, all 5-foot-11 and deceptive power, mobbed by linemates who knew what this meant. It wasn’t just a goal—it was defiance, a middle finger to the analytics nerds who’d crunched his 8.2% shooting percentage and deemed him washed at 34.
The third period sealed the drama. Trocheck, facing his former team, buried a slapshot from the high slot just 45 seconds in, padding the lead to 3-1 and drawing ironic cheers from a smattering of Rangers faithful in the stands.
Carolina clawed back when Jarvis, their goal-scoring machine with 12 tallies on the year, deked Shesterkin on a left-circle snipe at 10:53, slicing the deficit to one.
The tension ratcheted up; Hurricanes captain Sebastian Aho, marking his 700th career game with two helpers, orchestrated a furious push, peppering Shesterkin with 14 third-period shots alone.
But the Vezina Trophy contender was a wall, his sprawling pad save on Gostisbehere’s rebound in the dying minutes as clutch as they come.
Will Cuylle iced it with an empty-netter at 18:17, pumping his fist as the Rangers swarmed Shesterkin in a dogpile of blue jerseys. Final score: Rangers 4, Hurricanes 2. It was their first win over Carolina since last spring’s playoff heartbreak, a revenge tale laced with redemption.
Postgame, Panarin shrugged off the hero’s mantle in the locker room, his English clipped but sincere: “Team effort. We needed this bad. Feels good to contribute when it counts.” Shesterkin, ever the philosopher, added, “Artemi’s fire tonight? That’s the guy we signed. Slumps end; heart doesn’t.”
Yet, peel back the tape, and this victory whispers of bigger stakes, rooted in the high-stakes poker game James Dolan played six summers ago.
In July 2019, as the Knicks floundered in NBA purgatory and MSG’s coffers swelled from concerts and Knicks drama, Dolan inked Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5 million megadeal—the richest free-agent splash in Rangers history.
It wasn’t just about talent; Panarin’s 97-point rookie year with the Blackhawks had made him a unicorn, a playmaker who could thread needles through defenses like a surgeon.
But Dolan, the billionaire cable magnate with a reputation for impulsive ownership—firing coaches on whims, feuding with fans—saw in Panarin a personal vow. Sources close to the negotiations recall Dolan confiding to GM Jeff Gorton: “This is my promise to myself. No more half-measures.
We’re building around stars who bleed blue, not renting them.” It was Dolan’s olive branch to a fanbase scarred by the 2018 fire sale, his bid to reclaim glory after decades of near-misses.
Fast-forward to 2025, and that promise teeters. Panarin’s contract expires after this season, his no-move clause a golden handcuff in stalled extension talks.
Reports from insiders like Elliotte Friedman paint a picture of impasse: The Rangers, cap-strapped at $95.5 million with rising stars like Braden Schneider demanding deals, balk at Panarin’s camp seeking eight figures annually into his late 30s.
Trade whispers—linking him to Carolina, of all ironies—have quieted since his slow October, but Wednesday’s fireworks reignited the debate. Dolan, now 70 and reflective in rare interviews, has doubled down privately: “Bread Man stays if he wants. He’s family.” Whether that’s bluster or bedrock remains the offseason’s juiciest subplot.
For now, though, the Rangers ride this high. Their road trip continues Friday against a Winnipeg squad hungry for points, but the buzz from Raleigh has already lit up timelines. #PanarinRedemption trended nationwide, fans posting clips of his goal set to Springsteen anthems.
In a league where slumps can sink seasons, Panarin’s resurgence—nine points in his last four outings after a head-shaving “fresh start” ritual—hints at more magic. The Rangers, once adrift, now glimpse contention. And Dolan? His 2019 gamble, that self-sworn oath to chase Cups through charisma, feels alive again.
As the teams filed off the ice, Panarin lingered for a moment, tapping his stick on the boards in salute to the traveling faithful. In a sport of fleeting triumphs, this one felt eternal—a reminder that even the “lightweights” can topple giants when the lights burn brightest.
For New York, the story’s just beginning. Broadway’s curtain call might come sooner than anyone dared hope.
