Artemi Panarin's goal in garbage time of the Rangers' game five loss to the Lightning on Tuesday night was just his first point of the series at even strength, and Boomer and Gio want to know where the heck the Blueshirts star has been for much of this postseason.
"Artemi Panarin had the best seats in the house last night," Boomer said during Wednesday's show. "I don't know how much he got paid to play last night, but he should give his money back, because he was standing around not doing much."
Panarin struggled in the previous round against the Hurricanes, and wasn't his electric self in the first round, though that was forgiven when he put home the game winner in overtime in a decisive game seven. Perhaps Panarin isn't being given the same space to flex his playmaking ability like in the regular season, but so far, he hasn't shown much of an ability to adjust, and New York's offense has suffered because of it.
"What is going on with him?" Gio said. "Early in the postseason you said 'Maybe he's a guy who is playing through an injury and is cutting something out and we don't know about it,' and this happens all the time in hockey, but he has not been himself.
"You talked earlier about the open ice and how the regular season is a different game, and how the postseason when things tighten up is not really conducive for what he's doing, but my Lord, it's the conference final, and if you were to give him a grade, it would be in the Cs at the very best."
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