Rangers’ Zibanejad matches franchise record with 5 goals, pots OT winner
The puck kept finding Mika Zibanejad — and he kept burying them in the back of the net.
Five times.
And, the last put him in the New York Rangers’ record books and delivered them a big-time victory.
Zibanejad scored five goals to match the franchise record, capping the scoring spree 33 seconds into overtime in a wild 6-5 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
«The puck followed me today, I guess,» he said. «You look at the goals and it’s unbelievable plays being made and today I was at the right spot at the right time.
«It’s a night I’ll remember for a long time.»
WATCH | Zibanejad leads Rangers to victory with milestone night:
Zibanejad is the second player in NHL history to score his fifth goal in OT, joining Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov, who accomplished the feat on Dec. 26, 1996 — also against Washington.
«I feel like I’m speechless right now, to be honest with you,» Zibanejad said.
Zibanejad’s 38th of the season helped New York end a three-game skid and pulled the Rangers within two points of the Islanders for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. He took a pass from Artemi Panarin and broke in alone and beat Ilya Samsonov with a backhand. Zibanejad is the first Rangers center with at least 35 goals in a season since Hall of Famer Eric Lindros in 2001-02.
«You’d be hard pressed to match that,» Rangers coach David Quinn said. «Early on, he gets the hat trick and just doesn’t stop.»
FIVE. GOALS. <br><br>BALL. GAME. <a href=»https://t.co/8irmJAxoEj»>pic.twitter.com/8irmJAxoEj</a>
—@NYRangers
The Rangers centre is also the first player with five goals in a game since Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine did it in an 8-4 win over St. Louis on Nov. 24, 2018. Zibanejad joined Don Murdoch (Oct. 12, 1976) and Mark Pavelich (Feb. 23, 1983) as Rangers with five goals in a game.
«Sit back and watch it and enjoy it because it was a special night in so many ways for him and for us obviously to win a game of that magnitude, the ebbs and flows of it,» Quinn said.
«It was a special night obviously, not just for Mika, but for all of us to be part of it.»
WATCH | Zibanejad and other memorable 5-goal games:
When Zibanejad first entered the locker room after the game, it was empty — until his hiding teammates surprised him and quickly mobbed him with hugs.
«I didn’t expect that,» Zibanejad said. «I knew something was going on when I came in and no one was in here.»
Are you kidding me??? Did that just happen? What a performance!! <a href=»https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mikaforpresident?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>#Mikaforpresident</a> <a href=»https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw»>#NYR</a>
—@HLundqvist30
Tony DeAngelo had a goal and two assists, Panarin had three assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves for New York.
Alex Ovechkin had two goals, including the tying score with 43 seconds remaining to force overtime. That came after Zibanejad scored on a rebound with 1:42 remaining to give New York a brief 5-4 lead.
«Crazy game,» Zibanejad said. «Even though they tie it up and they come after us right after we score, we kept it going and found a way to win.»
