Artemi Panarin recorded his fifth career hat trick and collected a season-high four points as the host New York Rangers held on for a wild 6-5 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night.
Panarin scored New York’s first two goals and then got the hat trick 4:41 into the third to give the Rangers a 5-3 lead.
He got his third hat trick as a Ranger on a strong hustle play during a scramble near the crease. Johnny Brodzinski forged a turnover by Sharks’ defenseman Mario Ferraro near the blue line and Panarin jammed a rebound of a Vincent Trocheck shot under San Jose goalie MacKenzie Blackwood while being checked from behind by Fabian Zetterlund.
After Panarin’s final goal, the game was delayed by a few minutes as fans threw hats onto the ice, including one that grazed his jersey while he was on the bench.
Panarin ended the game with 15 goals in his first 23 games and capped his big night by setting up K’Andre Miller’s tally that made it 6-3. It was Panarin’s 19th career four-point game and 12th with the Rangers.
Mika Zibanejad also scored a goal after setting up Panarin’s first goal. Rookie Will Cuylle scored the tiebreaking goal on a breakaway with about four minutes left in the second as the Rangers won their third straight and improved to 9-0-1 in the past 10 meetings with San Jose.
Anthony Duclair, Ryan Carpenter and Jacob MacDonald scored the first three goals for the Sharks. Zetterlund and Alexander Barabanov tallied 72 seconds apart in the third when the Sharks made it a one-goal contest with about four minutes left.
New York goalie Jonathan Quick allowed five goals on 28 shots while Blackwood allowed six goals on 36 shots.
After Duclair made it 1-0 by finishing off a breakaway 3:50 into the game, Panarin scored his first goal on a wrist shot from between the circles that caromed off San Jose defenseman Matt Benning’s skate with 11:16 left.
Carpenter gave the Sharks their second lead when his shot from up front trickled off Quick’s glove but 34 seconds later, Panarin jammed in a rebound at the left side of the crease.
The Rangers took their first lead with 3:18 remaining on Zibanejad’s one-timer from the right side of the crease after Chris Kreider fed him the puck from behind the net.
MacDonald forged a 3-3 tie with a slap shot from above the left circle tucked inside the right post with 9:16 remaining in the second but Cuylle snapped the 3-3 tie with a breakaway with 3:57 left in the second.
–Field Level Media
