The Breadman has gone up.
Artemi Panarin returned with the Rangers on Wednesday afternoon after a 2 1/2 week absence following a politically motivated article in Russia accusing the star winger of assaulting an 18-year-old Latvian in 2011 .
The Rangers have been without Panarin since Feb. 20. He has missed the last eight games since requesting a leave of absence from the team following the discredited allegations imposed on him by his former KHL coach, Andrei Nazarov.
The Post spoke with five of Panarin Vityaz’s former teammates in 2011, who said they did not remember the alleged December 11, 2011 incident in Latvia. The KHL issued a statement to ESPN saying no report had ever been filed against Panarin.
Panarin and the Rangers vehemently denied the allegations, made shortly after the 29-year-old offered his support to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Nazarov is a well-documented supporter of current Russian President Vladimir Putin and has repeatedly spoken out against Panarin’s political stance.
When he was fired, Panarin was the team’s top scorer with five goals and 13 assists in 14 games. Since then, Pavel Buchnevich has advanced with seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 24 games. The Rangers went 4-4 without Panarin.