The New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy with a 55-23-4 record thanks to excellent play from a lot of their stars. Artemi Panarin set career highs in goals (49) and points (120,) Adam Fox finished with 73 points in 72 games, Vincent Trocheck set a career high in points (77) and Chris Kreider finished with 39 goals and 36 assists.
Despite their impressive record, the Rangers’ top center Mika Zibanejad went through some offensive struggles at even strength and did not play as well as he did in 2022-23. Now, the Swedish center has an opportunity to erase those offensive struggles with a strong postseason.
Zibanejad’s Play in 2023-34
In 2022-23, Zibanejad finished with 39 goals and tied his career-high in assists (52) while setting a career-high in points (91). Those numbers were even more impressive considering he is also excellent defensively and one of the Rangers’ best penalty killers.
This regular season, Zibanejad has played very well on special teams. He struggled with the timing of his slap shot early on, but has gotten back on track and is getting most of his slap shots on goal now. He had 12 goals and 19 assists on the man advantage this season.
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Additionally, Zibanejad and Kreider were excellent together on the penalty kill this season. They rarely got caught out of position and their speed and strength helped them clear the puck out of the defensive zone. They were also able to generate odd-man rushes and Zibanejad finished with two goals and four assists while shorthanded.
The problems for Zibanejad came at even strength. While he played well defensively, he struggled to produce offensively and just seemed a little off on his scoring chances and with his passing. His shooting percentage of 11.8 was his lowest since his first season with the Rangers in 2016-17. The team’s strong special teams and offensive production on their second line helped make up for the first line’s scoring woes, but they will need to provide more production this postseason.
Zibanejad finished the season with just 12 goals and 23 assists at even strength and 26 goals and 46 assists in total in 81 games.
Zibanejad’s Postseason Play
In Game 1 of the Rangers’ first-round series against the Washington Capitals, Zibanejad’s man beat him for a goal in the second period, but he was excellent on the penalty kill and got an assist after his stretch pass set up a Kreider breakaway goal. Overall, it was a positive Game 1 for him and the team as they won 4-1.
Zibanejad has the tools to deliver in the postseason, as he is strong, fast, reliable defensively, and skilled offensively. He was the Rangers’ best forward two postseasons ago as he led the team on an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Final and helped them come back from down 3-1 in their first-round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and 3-2 in their second-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes. He finished with 10 goals and 14 assists in 20 games.
During the first round of the 2017 Postseason, Zibanejad came through with a clutch overtime goal on the road against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the series. They went on to close out the series in game 6.
In total, Zibanejad has 14 goals and 26 assists in 43 playoff games with the Rangers. He also had two goals and six assists in 16 playoff games with the Ottawa Senators.
For Zibanejad and the Rangers Moving Forward
While this was not Zibanejad’s best regular season with the Rangers, he has the skills and playoff experience to succeed this postseason. He can take over on special teams, and the hope is that he will also start to produce offensively at even strength. Game 1 against the Capitals was a nice start, and now he will have to build on that as the team looks to make a run this postseason.