Mika Zibanejad Makes Franchise History with Rangers
In his 10th season with the Rangers, Mika Zibanejad is making waves by setting new franchise records.
The Swedish center scored his team-leading 10th goal during Thursday’s 4-2 victory against Ottawa, which places him in a tie for seventh in team history with Ron Grechner at 610 points.
“About the last game against the Stars, I think we’d say it was probably our best home game,” Zibanejad reflected post-game. “But overall, this is how we want to approach our play, and I think we’ve been showing that on the road too. We know our capabilities, but it won’t always be perfect. Not every night is going to feel like the Dallas game, but we laid a solid foundation today. Sure, the third period was a bit messy, yet they were really pushing us.”
After struggling last season, Zibanejad has rebounded impressively under newly appointed head coach Mike Sullivan. He has already matched half of last season’s total of 20 goals.
He also leads the Rangers in power play goals with six and ranks third in assists at 11.
Zibanejad recently had a five-game point streak halted, where he recorded three goals and three assists against the Avalanche, tallying nine points over his last eight games. He’s just two goals short of tying Chris Kreider and Camille Henry for the franchise record in power play goals, currently standing at 116.
Meanwhile, goaltender Spencer Martin, who has been the backup to Igor Shesterkin for the last two games, inked a two-year contract with the Rangers last month. In his five NHL seasons with the Avalanche, Canucks, Blue Jackets, and Hurricanes, Martin has a 24-30-8 record, a goals-against average of 3.56, and an .883 save percentage.
Starting off the current season in the Kontinental Hockey League with CSKA Moscow, Martin participated in 14 games, posting a 5-6-0 record, a 2.69 GAA, and a .905 save percentage.
The Rangers took a breather on Friday and are gearing up for back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden this weekend. They will first face the Avalanche on Saturday and then the Golden Knights the following night.
