The New York Rangers entered game four of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 2-1 series lead and looked to win a second game in Sunrise, Florida.
With an early 1-0 lead and the Blueshirts being back on the man advantage, Mika Zibanejad corralled a loose puck deep in the offensive zone and fired a shot that deflected off Sergi Bobrovsky and hit the crossbar but did not cross the goal line.
The Rangers would go on to lose game four in overtime, as an ugly pass in the offensive zone by Zibanejad led to an Aleksander Barkov breakaway, who drew a penalty after Blake Wheeler hooked the perennial Selke contender. The Panthers would score 13 seconds later and tie the series at two apiece before ending things in six games.
Zibanejad’s five-on-five struggles led to postseason struggles
The 31-year-old took a step back in the regular season as his point total dipped from his career-high 91 (39 goals and 52 assists) in 2022-23 to 72 ( 26 goals and 46 assists). The biggest note was the center’s struggles at even strength, which was a problem for the Rangers as a whole, but Zibanejad scored just eight goals in five-on-five situations.
When the playoffs began, Zibanejad looked like he was back to his postseason self, scoring three goals and 11 assists through the first two rounds, but his goal-scoring dried up as the 31-year-old went the final 11 games without finding the back of the net and failed to record an even-strength point in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Panthers took advantage, scoring twice with Zibanejad on the ice at five-on-five, out-attempting the Blueshirts 147-75 and out-shooting them 67-23. Ultimately, the Rangers’ struggles at even strength led to their elimination.
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What does Zibanejad’s future with the Rangers look like?
Zibanejad signed an eight-year $68 million contract in 2021, which runs through the end of the 2029-30 season and features a full no-movement clause, meaning the 31-year-old is a Blueshirt for as long as he wants to be.
With the Swedish native locked in the Rangers lineup for the foreseeable future, president and general manager Chris Drury will look to re-unlock his abilities. That comes with adding a permanent top-line right winger to play alongside Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.
Time will tell who that winger is, but the 31-year-old’s elite production window could be running out, and the Blueshirts need to do whatever they can to get the most out of him before that window shuts.
