Mika Zibanejad blasts Rangers to franchise record with OT winner over the Isles

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Mika Zibanejad blew the doors off the “Old Barn” when he blasted an absolute bomb past Varlamov in OT to pick up an extra point and close the gap on all three teams ahead of them in the standing for the playoffs. The road win set a franchise record of 8 straight!

First Period: All Georgiev

The Islander came out buzzing in their beloved home in Nassau County. After a dominating first half of the period the Rangers managed to take a 1-0 lead off a Panarin goal with nearly 3 minutes left in the first. It was all Alexander Georgiev that period keeping the Islanders at bay.

Second Period: Kegger

The Rangers found their feet in the second period, defensively not allowing a swarm of shots by the Islanders like they did in the first period. Greg McKegg gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead early in the second. As the period progressed, the Islanders started gaining more traction. Newly acquired JG Pageau got a fortuitous bounce off the back glass that ended up in his glove. He placed the puck on the ice behind the confused Georgiev and tucked it away cutting the lead in half. The Rangers went into the intermission with a 2-1 lead.

Third Period: Isles Assault

With a 2-1 lead heading into the third, the Rangers started off the period well, but the Islanders were not laying down. Brett Howden had a beautiful deflection from a Brendan Smith shot that gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead. However the Isles kept coming. They responded well after Jacob Trouba laid a massive hit on Islanders forward, Michael Dal Colle. A clean hit by Trouba, led to JG Pageau jumping and getting the instigator and a total of 17 minutes. Sadly, Ryan Strome took a trip to negate the PP and eventually a costly goal by Eberle on the brief PP to make it 3-2. With nearly two minutes left, the Islanders pulled their goalie and tied it at 17 seconds on a Brock Nelson goal. Off to overtime we go….

Overtime: ZiBOMBajad

It didn’t take long for this one to end. Artemi Panarin took the puck into the offensive zone nearly 30 seconds in. A double team on Panarin led to a pizza served to Mika Zibanejad walking down the royal road. Zibanejad teed it up and ripped a slap shot home. Game over. Rangers win 4-3 in overtime.

Post Game Notes

  • The Rangers extended their road winning streak to eight games (dating back to Jan. 16 at NY Islanders) and have outscored their opponents, 30-15, over the eight contests. The Blueshirts’ eight-game road winning streak is now the longest in franchise history.
  • The Rangers have posted a 10-3-0 record in February this season. The Blueshirts’ 10 wins in February in 2019-20 are tied for the most the team has earned in the month in one season in franchise history (New York also earned 10 wins in February in 1971-72, 2014-15, and 2015-16).
  • The Rangers posted a 3-1-0 record against the Islanders in their season series in 2019-20. The Blueshirts have earned a win in five of their last seven games against the Islanders (5-2-0 record). The Rangers have won seven of their last eight games at Nassau Coliseum (7-1-0 record) and have earned at least one point in nine of their last 10 games at the venue (8-1-1 record).

Notes courtesy of the NYR

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