Artemi Panerin will not be going to St. Louis to participate in the All-Star festivities this weekend. He was kept out of Tuesday night's game against the New York Islander with what the team announced was an upper-body injury. No timeline for the injury has been released as of this time.
Panarin has been one of the few bright spots on a struggling Rangers team this season. He sits fifth in league scoring with 26 goals and 68 points in 47 games. He also has the fourth best points per game in the league with a 1.45.
Panarin will be replaced by his New York Rangers teammate Chris Kreider. Kreider's name has been in trade talks all season long and some people on twitter are speculating that this could be a last minute attempt for his name to get trending ahead of the NHL's trade deadline, which is Feb. 24.
Kreider has 17 goals and 32 points in 48 games this season. This will be the first All-Star Game appearance of his career.
Panarin's absence is a tough blow, but won't really have an impact on the Rangers' season. They currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference and 10 points back of the second wild card spot. They could go on a serious tear in the second half and find themselves back in the playoff race, but in a more likely scenario they'll be receiving a lottery pick for the second season in a row.
You'll be able to watch Kreider and the rest of the NHL's all-stars this weekend from Jan. 24-26, with the Skills Competition kicking things off on Friday night, followed by the 3-on-3 tournament on Saturday.
Following the Skills Competition be sure to tune into 'Whatever It Takes', a documentary about Connor McDavid's recovery process from an injury that he suffered last spring.
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