Rangers’ Zibanejad Needs to Get In Gear

Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images

Over the last several seasons, there has always been one player on the New York Rangers that the team could count on to be their most consistent player.

That player was/is Mika Zibanejad. Ever since being traded to the team by the Ottawa Senators back in July 2016, Zibanejad, 30, has done it all for the Blueshirts.

He has produced (509 points), been a key contributor to the team’s power play (240 points), scored a lot of big goals (34 game-winning goals), and has played responsibly at both ends of the ice (+/- +54). Simply put, Zibanejad has done it all for the Rangers.

This season has been somewhat of a different story for Zibanejad. As of this writing (Monday night, March 11th), he has 54 points on 19 goals and 35 assists in 62 games.

Now, that point total is not terrible. He is currently the team’s fourth-leading scorer and there is still some time left in the regular season to get his point totals up.

With that said, he has struggled over his six games. In that span, he has no points, just 10 shots on goal, and is a +/- 0.

One thing he needs to do to get going is to start shooting the puck more. Yes, he plays on a line with a guy who has over 30 goals (Chris Kreider), but Zibanejad is also a player who can put the puck in the net.

Just look at his goal totals over the last few seasons:

  • 2019-20: 41 goals in 57 games
  • 2020-21: 24 goals in 56 games
  • 2021-22: 29 goals in 81 games
  • 2022-23: 39 goals in 82 games

Speaking of shooting the puck more, he needs to stop passing up high-danger scoring opportunities. There have been a lot of plays this year whether it is a 2-on-1 or an odd-man rush where Zibanejad should have shot the puck, but he passed it instead.

Lastly, it looks like he is not playing with a lot of confidence right now. He appears to be gripping the stick tighter and it is easy to tell that he is just as perplexed as the team’s fans are when it comes to his offensive struggles.

With the Stanley Cup playoffs right around the corner, Zibanejad needs to turn things around quickly. If the Rangers want to go far, they will need to have all of their best players playing at a high level and for the Blueshirts, that begins with Zibanejad.

Fortune Telling w/ Joe Fortunato Ranting Rangers: A New York Rangers Podcast

In this week's episode Joe Fortunato comes on to discuss NYR's offseason outlook now with Mike Sullivan hired, Drury's management of the team and more.How to support us and our sponsors:Columbia Sports ApparelESPN+ SubscriptionFanaticsDraft Kings – CODE ITRThanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.
  1. Fortune Telling w/ Joe Fortunato
  2. Built for Compliance, Not Cups
  3. Masterclass Incompetence
  4. The Great Regression : 24-25 NYR
  5. 68 Down & We Needed This 1

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Patrick Hoffman

Patrick covers the NHL for Inside The Rink. He has previously covered the league for The Ultimate Hockey Fan Cave, WTP Sports, Sportsnet.ca, Kukla’s Korner, Spector’s Hockey, NHL Network Radio blog, TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Stan Fischler’s “The Fischler Report”, as well as a slew of others.

Leave a Reply

2025 IIHF Worlds: Crosby Named Captain of Team Canada

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins will once again lead Team Canada on the international stage, named captain for the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Sweden and Denmark. He’ll be joined by alternate captains Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators, forming a veteran leadership group with deep […]

Read More
Rick Tocchet behind the bench for the Vancouver Canucks

Boston Bruins Have a Top Head Coaching Target

You can add Rick Tocchet’s name to the rumor mill when it comes to who the next head coach of the Boston Bruins will be. Tocchet played 47 games for the Bruins from 1996 to 1997 and scored 32 goals for them. Sources say that Tocchet could be a top target for the Bruins to […]

Read More
Mitch Marner and Chris Tanev celebrating a goal

NHL Game Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers with Line Combinations 5/9/2025

Game 3: Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0) at Florida Panthers (0-2)Venue: Amerant Bank ArenaDate: Tonight – May 9Time: 7:00 pm EST TV: TruTV, TNT, TVASRadio:Toronto – 1050 TSNFlorida – 560 AM WQAM DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:Toronto +1.5 ML +190Florida -1.5 ML -230O/U 5.5 Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster Toronto Maple Leafs News & Notes: The Maple Leafs […]

Read More