The 6-foot-4, 209-pound Niko Mikkola wasn’t brought in to contribute on offense, but it would be an added bonus.
The shot from the point came from newly acquired defenseman Niko Mikkola, whom Panarin pointed at immediately as the puck soared past rookie goalie Arturs Silovs and to the back of the net. The score was at first credited to Mikkola, but later was changed to give Panarin his sixth goal. While it’s probably too late for a scoring change now, Mikkola’s ability to accurately put the puck on net is still encouraging.
After the Rangers received four points from defensemen Wednesday night, the club’s D corps has now posted a total of 138 points this season, which is the second most in the NHL behind only the Sharks’ 141. Between Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and sometimes Jacob Trouba, the Rangers have enough offense-minded blueliners.What the Rangers need is another stay-at-home defenseman who knows when to pick his spots in joining the rush.
Head coach Gerard Gallant has shown a preference for bigger, stronger defensemen. After alternating at the start of the season between Libor Hajek and Zac Jones, who are both now at AHL Hartford, the Rangers brought up 6-6, 231-pound Ben Harpur from the Wolf Pack.
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