Artemi Panarin’s frustrations boiled over Saturday night, saying the Rangers “gotta fix everything” after they were blanked for the eighth time already in 40 games this season in a 2-0 loss to the Islanders.
Mike Sullivan isn’t happy with those numbers, either, but he stressed the importance Sunday of staying positive and trusting the team’s talent entering Monday’s visit to Carolina.
“Well, I don’t think… obviously, that’s not a stat that any of us are proud of. We’d like to score some goals,” Sullivan said after practice in Tarrytown. “But having said that, I don’t think it’s doom and gloom around here because we didn’t win a game [Saturday] night or we didn’t score a goal.
“We know we have the capability of scoring goals, and we have. And so we’ve got to build on the positive things that we’re doing. We’ve got to identify areas that we can improve and get better, to try to help in that capacity. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Panarin, a pending free agent, leads the team with 14 goals and 38 points, but the power play has struggled (5-for-37) without defenseman Adam Fox, who is close to returning after missing 13 games.
“Obviously [Panarin] has the ability to drive offense. He’s a difference-maker. You can use the phrase game-breaker,” said Sullivan, who coached Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with the Penguins. “There’s a number of those guys in the league, but they’re unique in that regard. And I think Bread is one of those guys.
“I’ve had a fair amount of experience in coaching those types over the years, and I think based on my experience, you can’t coach those guys the same way. You’ve got to give those guys a certain latitude to act on their instincts. And I certainly try to do that. The phrase I use with them all the time is just meet me halfway with respect to play away from the puck, positional play, assignments off of faceoffs, things of that nature. Offensively, we try to stay out of his way and allow him to trust his instincts and act on his instincts. I think that that’s what makes Bread unique, and so we do our very best to stay out of the way in that regard .”
J.T. Miller (upper-body injury) skated on his own before Sunday’s practice, Sullivan said. Sam Carrick (illness) did not practice.
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