Mika Zibanejad qualifies for the player of the year award back, and if so, can we introduce him to that minute and continue for the rest of the season?
Because the Swede represents an epic landslide after making history with his second consecutive hat trick and his six-point game against the Flyers. This came Thursday, at the Flyers ’funeral to Rangers 8-3 in Philadelphia, which followed last Wednesday’s 9-0 in the garden.
It was 6-0 at 2:42 of the second period for the Blueshirts, who are 4-1 under acting coach Kris Knoblauch and 5-1-1 in all seven games since Artemi Panarin joined the training on March 13 in Boston, while outscoring opponents by a set of 34-14.
Zibanejad’s six points give him 17 (7-10) in the last seven competitions and 18 (8-10) in the 10 games since he was nailed to the bench during the first 10:46 of the second period to the Devils at 2 of March. Coming out of this, Zibanejad scored eight points (2-6) in 21 games. He now has 26 points (10-16) in 32 contests.
“I do not know if the doubt about himself is correct [term] but it was definitely a struggle for me to get the record on the net, ”said Zibanejad, who became the third player in NHL history and the first since 1942-43 to record multiple six-point outings. against the same opponent in a single season … “But I tried to stay in the job and trust myself that I would come in. Obviously, now I have done very well and also the whole team.
“You try to catch one game at a time, especially when things don’t go well, but even more so when the record comes in. I try to keep up the level and keep working.”
A few more games against the Flyers, who have conceded 57 goals in their last 12 games, and Zibanejad could be able to locate Connor McDavid for the Art Ross Trophy.
Everything seems possible all of a sudden, with the Blueshirts tying three points behind the Bruins for the playoff spot in the Eastern Division, even though Boston has three games on hand.
Everything seems possible, with Igor Shesterkin looking fast when he returned after a three-week absence in a 41-save performance that was necessary when his teammates played as if they had fallen after building that 6-0 lead . Everything seems possible, with Adam Fox recording five assists to drive a nascent Norris Trophy campaign. Everything seems possible after another night of bravery by Panarin and Ryan Strome.
A year ago, the Rangers ’first two lines gave the team identity. Deeper down, the identity was created around Panarin and Zibanejad, who finished the season as two of the top 10 players in the world. Welcome back.
“We’re seeing it,” said Fox, who made quarterback the power play that scored three goals in four shots at 3:19 of his first three chances with the man’s lead. “At the beginning of the year we kept the teams with low goals, but we couldn’t get that offense.
“Viously, obviously, scoring goals in the game helps a lot. We had possibilities at the beginning of the year, but without capitalizing. Now we find some goals and achieving goals helps the boys confidence and creates more possibilities.
“It helps and I don’t think we’re fooling the game. We have possibilities in a hurry and we take advantage of it. Start at the back “.
Shesterkin said he had been aware of his three-week absence at the start of the match. But he came in quickly with a couple of difficult assignments in the first seven minutes more to keep the game without scores.
Then the deluge, with Strome marking a redirect in front of a magnificent Panarin feed, while the famous media critic Jakub Voracek was close, but unattended at 8:01. Pavel Buchnevich got his first of two in a two-to-two feed from Chris Kreider 52 seconds later. It took Zibanejad almost five minutes to get the first, bowing to Fox’s power at 1:36 p.m.
There were three more during the first 2:42 of the second that led Carter Hart to the bench, Zibanejad scoring at a sharp angle with a timer from the lower left circle at 0:54, just 1:12 before starting once home. from the high slot to complete the hat trick at 2:06, which came 36 seconds ahead of the long K’Andre Miller, who could have hit a Philly defender in front.
The Rangers started sniffing out points and became sloppy after that, and the Flyers sneaked inside 6-2 at 1:34 p.m. But Shesterkin shone throughout the final period in which Philadelphia threw 18 shots into the net for a total of 44.
So it ended 8-3. Maybe it’s time for the Rangers to stop presenting Zibanejad with the Broadway hat after nights like these and give him all the damn haberdashery.