March 5th, 2020 was a night unlike any other at Madison Square Garden. Leading scorer Artemi Panarin gathered in a puck and fired it up the middle of the ice to a streaking Mika Zibanejad in Overtime. The Swedish center deked Captials' goalie Ilya Samsonov down and roofed the puck for the game-winning goal. Zibanejad pumped his arms and screamed in jubilation as he potted his fifth goal of the game in the 6-5 victory. Accolades showered Zibanejad for becoming the 48th player to score 5-in-a-game.
Those were different times as the upstart Rangers were thinking their rebuild was turning around at light speed. Zibanejad would be to Number One center the team lacked since the departure of Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. They tried Petr Nedved, Eric Lindros, Scott Gomez, Brad Richards and even the team's current GM Chris Drury, but Zibanejad looked poised to take to a Cup. In the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, he'd register a goal and an assist to put the Rangers ahead 2-0 in Game 3, hoping to take a 3-0 series lead over Tampa Bay. That would be Zibanejad's last goal in the ECF, including last year's six-game exit to the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
Recently, Larry Brooks reported that Mika Zibanejad is "not thrilled" about having his ice time reduced by head coach Peter Laviolette. He's down almost 3 minutes from his electric 19-20 season to 18:01 and his line with Chris Kreider and Reilly Smith is seeing less time 5-on-5 than the Chytil-Kakko-Cuylle unit. Fair or not, Zibanejad is getting a reputation as a Power Play merchant. However, his Power Play numbers are stumbling, and moments like Tuesday's one-time whiff against Winnipeg was an eye-opener. Can the Rangers win a Stanley Cup with their top center ineffective at 5-on-5?
In the last 3 seasons, Zibanejad ranks 33rd among NHL centers with 133 Even Strength Points behind teammate Vincent Trocheck (138) and Nick Schmaltz (135). However, DJ Z-Bad has 98 Power Play points in that time, ranking him 7th in the NHL, with 13 Short-handed points (3rd in NHL). His +70 is also worthy of praise. This season, Zibanejad has continued the trend with 8 Even Strength points; tied with Brock Nelson and Brayden Point, but behind Mason Appleton and Anton Lundell. Translation: Mika needs to improve at 5-on-5.
The Swedish center ranks 98th in the league among centers in On-Ice Even-Strength Goals-For. While it currently puts Zinbanejad 3rd on the Rangers in this category behind Trocheck and Filip Chytil (13), last season the Rangers' top center trailed Trocheck by 22 (86-64). Two seasons ago, Zibanejad led the Rangers with 65 On-Ice EVF and 71 in 21-22; this isn't related to the departures of wingers Mats Zuccarello or Pavel Buchnevich. It begs the question: what must the Rangers do to get their highest-paid center to play his best again?
New York Rangers' Head coach Peter Laviolette knows he cannot use Zibanejad at Even-Strength as much as Vincent Trocheck - and he wasn't alone. The previous coach Gerard Gallant knew it too. In the two seasons since Trocheck signed, Zibanejad has averaged 14:24 (under Laviolette) and 14:32 (under Gallant). Compare that to 15:20 under David Quinn in '19-20. Zibanejad is not at his best when the game is 5-on-5. Compare that to the league's top centers this season:
-Colorado Nathan MacKinnon 18:16
-Edmonton Connor McDavid 17:36
-New Jersey Jack Hughes 17:06
-Islanders Mat Barzal and Winnipeg's Mark Scheifle 17:00
There is no question that Zibanejad has the talent to be up with the best centers in the league, but ice-time comes with production. His production triggers a trick-down effect as his longtime linemate Chris Kreider has seen his Even-Strength ice time fall to 12:21 this season. The Rangers' top center needs to find his game again as they are invested into him until 2030.
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