ANAHEIM, Calif. – There were questions for a while, doubts, about whether Ryan Strome was truly a top-echelon center iceman or just a guy who looked good playing next to Artemi Panarin. Strome answered those questions last season when he played without Panarin for three weeks while Panarin was on a leave of absence from the team, and played well.
And Strome played well this past week, when Panarin was out while in COVID-19 protocol. He produced two goals and two assists in the three games Panarin missed prior to Saturday’s late game in Anaheim against the Ducks, and his reconfigured line, with 2020 No.