Mika Zibanejad singlehandedly downs Caps

Mika Zibanejad scored five, count em, five goals, including the OT winner, as the NY Rangers got back in the win column with a huge 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals. Zibanejad’s goals tied the game at 1, setting the tone. He then scored to give the Rangers a lead four times in a row, including twice in the third and the OT winner.

Zibanejad single-handedly saved the New York Rangers’ season, as a fourth loss in a row would not only have been demoralizing, it would have mathematically put the Rangers in a precarious spot for their playoff hopes. The dream is still alive.

Caps 1, Rangers 0 – Weak angle goal

This is a bit of a weak angle goal from Georgiev. That’s two in two games.

Rangers 1, Caps 1 – More net-front goals

The Caps seemed to forget Mika Zibanejad was in front of the net on this powerplay. Artemi Panarin does a good job keeping this shot  low so Zibanejad can tip it.

Rangers 2, Caps 1 – Bad angle goals for all

I know Zibanejad has a cannon, but this is weak by Samsonov. The puck goes into the middle of the net.

Caps 2, Rangers 2 – Of course Kovalchuk gets his first as a Cap

Ilya Kovalchuk came off the bench and blasted this over Georgiev. Georgiev, when he’s on, usually gets this. But given the player and the shot, I don’t think there’s much fault there.

Rangers 3, Caps 2 – Panarin is good

Man what a pass by Panarin to Tony DeAngelo, who got a step on Alex Ovechkin here. The pass was so hard and so perfect that DeAngelo didn’t even need to one-time it and he still got the shot off before Samsonov could get over in time.

Caps 3, Rangers 3 – Of course they allow a quick answer

Not a good passing lane to leave open on this one. I think Marc Staal lost his stick on the glass on his clear on this.

Rangers 4, Caps 3 – The hat trick

Pavel Buchnevich on the forecheck pressured Evgeny Kuznetsov into the turnover. Bang-bang with Zibanejad for the hat trick.

Caps 4, Rangers 4 – Giveaways kill

Zibanejad turned the puck over in the neutral zone and it wound up on Ovechkin’s stick. Still the greatest goal scorer in history.

Rangers 5, Caps 4 – Mika Zibanejad again

Mika with the 4th. Just capitalizing on a great bounce.

Caps 5, Rangers 5 – Rebound control

John Carlson’s shot got through, and Staal had to cover both TJ Oshie and Ovechkin in front. He chose wrong. Awful rebound control by Georgiev there.

Rangers 6, Caps 5 – Mika Zibanejad the GOAT

Those DJ skills are paying off.

Shot Heatmap – Pretty even against a high flying team

This is all you can ask for against the Caps. They are a good team. The Rangers actually controlled the quantity but not the quality here. An odd occurrence.

Skater Results – Quantity not quality

The Rangers again controlled the quantity but not the quality, but the difference wasn’t substantial. Julien Gauthier had a little bit of a rough game, as the only Ranger in the “bad” category in both charts.

This win set the Rangers straight and back in the playoff hunt. They still have their work cut out for them, and with no games against the teams they are chasing, they just need to win. Keep winning. Keep getting points. As Dory would say, just keep swimming.