The New York Rangers and forward Artemi Panarin are coming off a loss on the ice after they lost Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
That being said, Panarin achieved a much bigger win off the ice after his nickname was mentioned on an episode of Larry David’s sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. The episode, titled “Ken/Kendra,” is the second-to-last of the 12th and final season of the series.
In the episode, David mentions Panarin in a scene featuring Cheryl Hines and J.B. Smoove. “You want to talk about the Rangers,” David says. “How about the way ‘Breadman’ is playing the wing, controls that puck? It’s really amazing, isn’t it?”
Artemi Panarin saw the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” clip. Adam Fox showed it to him yesterday.
Panarin wasn’t familiar with the show but joked, “I will try to stick handle better now.” I’m sure that will make Larry David happy. https://t.co/buILLaq6aW
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 2, 2024
According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, in a message published on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday, March 2, Panarin “wasn’t familiar with the show” and missed the episode and the viral clip when it aired, but Rangers teammate Adam Fox showed it to him.
“I will try to stick handle better now,” Panarin told Baugh after watching the clip. “I’m sure that will make Larry David happy,” Baugh commented.
Artemi Panarin Is Having a Career Season With the Rangers
Does Panarin, also known as “Breadman,” need to improve his puck-handling skills, though? It’s fair to say there is not much need for him to do that. Not this season, at least.
Panarin will enter the rink on Wednesday, April 3, boasting career-high numbers in goals (44) and points (108).
He ranks fourth in total points and he can be considered the “best of the rest” forward behind the trio of Nathan MacKinnon (127), Nikita Kucherov (127), and Connor McDavid (126) this season.
If he scores one more point in 2024, Panarin will have a top-2 season in Rangers history as only two players have scored more than Panarin’s current 108 tally in a single year: Jean Ratelle (109) and Jaromir Jagr (123).
Panarin, who signed with the Rangers as a free agent in the summer of 2019, had never scored more than 32 goals in his career and he had never reached triple-digit points in a single season, topping at 96 two years ago.
The Russian winger is also approaching a career-high mark in assists with 64 in 75 games and seven contests left before the end of the regular season. His career high sits at 74 assists, a figure he notched in the 2022 season.
Larry David Is a Bonafide New York Sports Fanatic
Back in February, comedian and creator of the world-renowned sitcom Seinfeld Larry David declared himself “a huge Ranger fan,” while appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“I see entire games, I’ll tape them and then I watch them,” he said. “And if it’s too late, then, I’ll just go through the tape for the goals.”
Taking advantage of the NHL Stadium Series game against the New York Islanders played in February earlier this year, the Rangers gifted David a No. 93 Mika Zibanejad jersey. The franchise shared the moment on its social media account on X with the post getting nearly three thousand likes (and counting).
David is also a New York Knicks fan and can often be spotted on the sidelines of Madison Square Garden in games played by the Knickerbockers inside the Mecca of basketball.
Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson, along with teammates Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein, wore the Rangers Stadium Series jersey in a game at MSG that took place in early February.
The Rangers will play at Madison Square Garden again on Wednesday, April 3, in the latest installment of their rivalry against the New Jersey Devils, although it's a relatively gentle one with New York (leading the league with 104 points) and the Devils (76 points, 6 behind the WC2 berth) all but out of playoff contention. NHL Rangers winger Artemi Panarin has promised to elevate his performance after being mentioned by Larry David.
