The Rangers prevailed 6-5 in overtime in a back-and-forth game against the Capitals. Mika Zibanejad, in a masterful performance tallied, five goals, including the overtime winner, in the victory. New York, who inched closer to a playoff berth, closes out their four-game home stand Saturday against the Devils.
Game recap:
David Quinn Post-Game
“You’d be hard-pressed to match that. Just sit back, watch him and enjoy him.…
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 6, 2020
-Coach Quinn on Mika pic.twitter.com/ky8bsSGlzO
A few thoughts: 1) I wonder who we should start with, oh, that's right, Ziib. The tweets etc. kind of tell the whole story. But beyond that is how he viewed by the coaching staff, teammates and organization. This quote by Ryan Strome should tell you all you need to know about Zib.
Strome on Mika, who he called, "one of the most underrated guys in league" ⬇ï¸
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) March 6, 2020
"The best part about him is, he'll come tomorrow and he'll be humble at the rink and he'll put his head down and go to work. We follow when he does stuff like that."#NYR #NHL
Credit GM Jeff Gorton for stealing Zibanejad from Ottawa for Derrick Brassard. The full trade was Zibanejad and a second-rounder in exchange for Brassard and a seventh-rounder. Since the deal, Zibanejad has recorded 109 goals and 229 points in 263 games while Brassard has posted 59 goals and 138 points in 287 games for the Senators, Penguins, Panthers, Avalanche and Islanders. But it goes way beyond the points, the presence and leadership Zib provides on-and-off the ice is impossible to measure. It's both aspects that have Zib on the short list to be the next possible Blueshirts' captain.
Zibanejad has scored 14 goals in his past 10 games while adding six assists in that stretch. He has 27 goals and 47 points in his last 33 games. Yesterday, he did it in every way possible, tip-in tally, slap shot from the left side, score shortside from the crease, rebound, slap shot goal from the right side of the net and breakaway tally roofed in overtime, You can only wonder what his numbers might have been if he hadn't missed 13 games with a "neck" injury following Patrice Bergeron's reverse back check. Team wise, the record was 8-4-1 without Zib, so his presence might not have made a material difference. But you can let your imagination go and think that a healthy Zib might have meant a handful more points, which would make have a material impact on the postseason chase.
Zibanejad's five goals:
Mika Zibanejad has scored 14 goals in a 10-game span. Only one player in @NYRangers history has posted as many goals through 10 contests: Jean Ratelle (15 from Feb. 5-22, 1972 and 14 from Feb. 6-23, 1972). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/R623tF7WIO
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 6, 2020
ONE
— NHL (@NHL) March 6, 2020
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
Yup, a 5ï¸âƒ£-goal game for @MikaZibanejad. Simply unreal. pic.twitter.com/Bq6EIC9axf
Mika Zibanejad is just the third player in #NYR’s 94-year history to score 5 goals in a game. He’s the fourth #NHL player in the 21st century (Gaborik 2007, Franzen 2011 and Laine 2018) to accomplish the feat.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 6, 2020
Mika Zibanejad is the second player in NHL history to register five goals AND the game-winning goal in overtime in the same contest (the first was Sergei Fedorov on Dec. 26, 1996 vs. Washington). #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) March 6, 2020
ð‘»ð’‰ð’† ð’ƒð’†ð’”ð’• kind of surprise party. pic.twitter.com/LZDM7V8Vzq
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 6, 2020
2) The Batman to Zib's Robin, Artemi Panarin had three assists last night and now has 93 points on the season. As good as he offensively, is how bad he was to me, defensively. Failed to pick up the trailer on a few pf the Caps' goals. But he made up for it, especially with the eyes-in-the-back-of his head, anticipation pass he made to Zib for the game-winner.
Artemi Panarin is the ninth Ranger (and first left wing) in franchise history who has recorded 60 or more assists in a season (Ratelle, Gilbert, Rogers, Leetch, Messier, Zubov, Gretzky, Jagr). #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) March 6, 2020
3) Tony DeAngelo is going to get paid and New York better not let him go. His goal and two assists gave ADA 52 points on the season. The tweet below shows where that stands in recent NY history. He also brings an edge to the lineup, which needs to be reigned in at times, but he clearly has passion on the ice.
Tony DeAngelo registered his 50th point of the season, and he is the first Rangers defenseman who has tallied at least 50 points in a season since Brian Leetch in 2001-02. #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) March 6, 2020
4) Alexandar Georgiev wasn't great. I am sure he would love to have Carl Hagelin's goal back. You can maybe fault him on one more, but the defense wasn't great and Washington had lots of room in the offensive zone. Ovi was Ovi, which ended up setting the stage for Zib's heroics.
Igor Shesterkin is close to returning from his fractured rib. It's possible he is ready for Saturday against New Jersey. I would sit him and maybe use him back-to-back versus Dallas and Colorado, making sure he is fully healed.
5) A rough game for Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil, as well as Marc Staal. One saving grace though was on the fifth goal. I loved that Kaako recognized the situation and just reacted, going down the wing and shooting towards the net. That shows a player who was just able to play, not allowing his struggles or issues to impact him on the ice. Lots more work to be done, but a good moment in a meh game for him.
6) Playoff race - three straight losses did not help the Rangers' chances by any stretch of the imagination. But they found a way to earn the win Thursday.
Yesterday, the Senators defeated the Islanders. The Penguins beat the Sabres, Bruins over the Panthers in overtime and the Flyers won again, outscoring the Canes, and are now tied with the Capitals for first place in the Metro Division.
The New York Islanders drop to 2-7-2 in their last 11. Haven’t won a game since the trade deadline and just lost to Montreal and Ottawa back to back. Puke city. Meanwhile over at MSG....
— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) March 6, 2020
Games that matter today: None. Saturday: Carolina at the Islanders, Montreal at Florida, Buffalo at Philly and Columbus at Edmonton.
Toronto - 79 points - 68 games
Philly - 87 points - 67 games Pittsburgh - 82 points - 65 games Columbus - 79 points - 68 games Islanders - 78 points - 66 games
Rangers - 76 points - 67 games Carolina - 75 points - 65 games Florida - 74 points - 67 games Montreal - 71 points - 69 games