Rangers' Artemi Panarin: Out against Montreal

Panarin (upper body) won't play Wednesday against the Canadiens, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports.

The Rangers are locked into their playoff spot as the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Panarin sit out Friday's regular-season finale versus Washington as well. With Panarin on the shelf, look for Alexis Lafreniere to jump into a top-six role against Montreal.