Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad hits his stride heading into 4-Nations Face-off, ‘feel like kid again’
New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad is set to open the 4-Nations Faceoff for Sweden against Canada on Wednesday night, playing some of his best hockey of the season
The 31-year-old has 11 goals and 37 points in 55 games this season, but has really increased his offensive output over the past five games, scoring two goals and adding six assists. He had two more assists when the Rangers rallied past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in their final game before the break.
It is very possible that the uptick in production is due to the acquisition of J.T. Miller, who’s made an immediate impact for New York playing on a line with Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin. Zibanejad’s game took off, and has continued even though he was on a different line in Columbus.
For the next two weeks, Zibanejad will have a new set of linemates in William Nylander and Rickard Rakell as he trades in his Broadway Blueshirt for the Tre Kronor of Sweden.
Rackell, who scored against the Rangers on Friday in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-2 win, had 25 goals and 48 points in 56 games this season. The 31-year-old is a six-time 20-goal scorer.
Nylander leads the Toronto Maple Leafs and is second in the NHL with 33 goals. The 28-year-old is averaging a point per game with 55 points in 55 games and scored scored 40 goals each of the past two seasons.
“I’m not really surprised how good he is, but it’s just in terms of his, I think, just the puck-handling. And the way he sees the ice, obviously his all-around game, really,” Zibanejad said about Nylander. “The way he’s been for the past couple of years has been awesome to see. Maybe not as much fun to play against, but I get a chance to play with him now, so I’m excited.”
Related: Grading New York Rangers goalies, defensemen at 4 Nations break in NHL schedule
Mika Zibanejad will play significant role for Sweden at 4 Nations
Zibanejad and Nylander will be the one-two punch on the top line for Sweden, which features other talented players such as Jesper Bratt (New Jersey), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), Victor Headman (Tampa Bay), and Linus Ullmark (Ottawa).
While Sweden is likely not the betting favorite against the United States or Canada, they still have an impressive roster. For Zibanejad, he’ll likely assume a similar role comparable to what he does in New York, playing on a top line 5v5, power play and penalty kill. With a player of Nylander’s caliber on his line, the game could open up even more for Zibanejad offensively, especially with how his game has been as of late.
“I think you already felt chemistry right off the bat in practice, so that was nice,” said Nylander of Zibanejad and Rakell.
Of course, it will be a true test going up against a team that consists of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan Mackinnon for Canada, or the Tkachuk brothers paired up with Jack Hughes for the United States. Don’t count Finland out either as Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen are teaming up. That being said, playing big games for Sweden is nothing new for Zibanejad.
Perhaps his best career moment was his golden goal at the 2012 World Junior Championship, which gave Sweden the 1-0 win over Russia. He also won gold for Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, scoring in that game as well.
On Tuesday, Zibanejad told Mollie Walker of the NY Post just how thrilled he is with this latest international opportunity.
“I feel like a kid again, honestly. Speaking Swedish to my teammates, having meetings in Swedish, it just kind of brings you back,” he said. “I’ve been away for, what, 14 years now from Swedish hockey? I feel like it doesn’t take a very long time to get used to the guys, to the coaches, to just the way of thinking I guess. It’s been a lot of fun and it’s exciting. Obviously, we want to win and that’s the mentality we’re going in with tomorrow. Nothing changes there, but I think there’s a different excitement for a tournament like this.”
Zibanejad will be called on again for Sweden to put up some big performance if they want to upset in the 4 Nations Face-off. Each team will play three games in a round-robin format. Teams will earn three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss, and zero for a regulation loss.
The top two teams in points will battle for the championship.
More About:New York Rangers News