New York Rangers Daily: Mika Zibanejad finishes strong; Panthers eye sweep; Honoring Johnny Hockey
The World Hockey Championships ended on a good — if not perfect — note for New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad on Sunday. On the final day of the tournament, Zibanejad was in action for host country Sweden — just not in the gold medal game.
Zibanejad scored a goal and added an assist to help Sweden secure the bronze medal with a 6-2 win against Denmark. Sweden had a 4-0 lead early in the third period, but when Denmark pushed back with a pair of goals less than three minutes apart, Zibanejad helped swing momentum back the other way.
First, there was a secondary assist on Marcus Johansson’s goal at 8:25, and then Zibanejad iced the win for Sweden when he scored at 15:03 of the third period.
Zibanejad had mostly a good tournament, finishing with eight points (five goals, three assists) in nine games, missing one with an illness. He tied for fifth in scoring for Sweden, and was tied for ninth among in the tournament with five goals.
Like the rest of his teammates, Zibanejad wasn’t great in a 6-2 loss to the United States in the semifinals. But all in all, Zibanejad appeared rejuvenated playing for his home country after the dark malaise which engulfed him with the Rangers this past season.
Momentum doesn’t carry from one season to the next, but Rangers brass must be happy to see Zibanejad finish up this season strong in the NHL (11 points in six games) and on the international stage.
But if they haven’t done so already, general manager Chris Drury and coach Mike Sullivan must make it a point to sit down with Zibanejad and make sure his head is clear and he’s all-in next season. Because he most definitely was not in 2024-25.
By the way, the United States won the World Championship, defeating Switzerland 1-0 on Tage Thompson’s goal 2:02 into overtime Sunday. It’s the first time the U.S. won gold at the Worlds since 1933.
No Rangers were on Team USA’s roster. Brett Berard missed out on the experience, when he was forced to pull out of the tournament with an injury.
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