New York Rangers: Welcome to the Mika Zibanejad show
By Kyle Morello
New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad has been on the teams’ roster since the start of the 2016-17 season. However, he is finally really making his presence known throughout the league.
New York Rangers’ forward Mika Zibanejad is putting the league on notice with his play as of late.
The Swedish forward has a whopping 19 points in his last 11 games, scoring 11 goals and tallying 8 assists in that span.
To put that in perspective, here are the list of players who have more points in that span (since January 8th):
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Patrick Kane (23 points). That’s it.
Yes, Zibanejad has really been better than everyone else in the league other than a player most would consider an all-time talent.
This hot streak has brought him to a total of 53 points on the year, which means he’s already passed his career high in points.
What’s even more impressive about his point total this season, is that he has only played in 53 games so far, meaning he is averaging a point per game.
This means he’s on pace to average 82 points this season, which would be the most by a Ranger since Marion Gaborik’s 86 points way back in 2009-10.
Another important part of Zibanejad’s season is that the Rangers have also played 53 games so far this season, meaning that he’s played in every game so far this season.
This is huge for Zibanejad, as he has been injured from time to time during his tenure in New York. He played in just 56 games in 2016-17, and 72 in 2017-18 with the Blueshirts.
What does all of this mean? Well, it means that Zibanejad is finally playing up to the potential he’s flashed in spurts over the last 3 years.
While he does have some downside to his game, such as giving away the puck too often and taking too many penalties (he’s already at a career high in that, too), he’s playing at a level that no Ranger has been at in a long time.
The crazy part is that he’s still only 25 years old, meaning that he’s just enter the prime of his career.
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It’s Mika Zibanejad’s world, we’re just living in it.