Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad helps Sweden win Olympics opener over Italy 5-2
Sweden struggled early in its Olympics opener against Italy, but thanks in part to New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad, the Tre Kronor pulled out a 5-2 win over host Italy in Group B pool play Wednesday in Milan.
Zibanejad scored a key third-period goal and had a primary assist on Gabriel Landeskog’s first-period power-play tally to finish with two points in his Olympic debut. The 32-year-old totaled four shots on goal and was plus-2 in 13:43 TOI.
Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres had three assists for Sweden, and William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs scored the game-winning goal.
Sweden earned three points for the regulation win and sits tied atop Group B with Slovakia, who upset Sweden’s Scandinavian rival Finland, 4-1, earlier Wednesday.
Zibanejad and Sweden square off against Finland on Friday.
Mika Zibanejad scores crucial goal for Sweden
Sweden played with fire for much of its opener against Italy. Despite outshooting the Italians 60-22, and 27-3 in the opening period, Italy scored the game’s first goal and Sweden clung to a narrow 3-2 advantage late in the third period.
But Zibanejad changed that with less than five minutes to play. Mere seconds after missing an empty net that would have given Sweden some breathing room, he took a pass from Dahlin and fluttered a wrist shot past Italy goalie Davide Fadani — who was screened by Zibanejad’s linemate Elias Pettersson — for his first goal of the tournament.
The goal gave Sweden a 4-2 lead with 4:18 to play — on Sweden’s 58th shot on goal for the game — and some valuable insurance.
Zibanejad carried his scorching play over from the NHL onto the international stage. He leads the Rangers with 23 goals this season, including 11 over the span of 14 games in January.
Mika Zibanejad set up Gabriel Landeskog’s first-period PPG
Zibanejad was initially given an assist on Victor Hedman’s empty-net goal with 2:49 to play. The Rangers center won the defensive-zone face-off that set up Hedman’s long-range shot which found the back of the net. Yet, that apparent helper was taken away, and Gustav Forsling ended up with the lone assist on Hedman’s ENG.
But Zibanejad did help Sweden break the ice in the first period on the power play. Playing on Sweden’s second unit, Zibanejad snapped a cross-seam pass that Landeskog one-timed past Italy starting goalie Damian Clara to tie the score 1-1 at 9:06.
The ice-breaking goal was enormous, since Sweden peppered Clara with shot after shot, yet trailed midway through the period after Luca Frigo sent the home crowd into delirium by scoring for Italy at 4:14 of the first.
Mika Zibanejad centered line with Elias Pettersson, Rickard Rakell
Photo courtesy @NYRangers
Zibanejad was on Sweden’s third line, centering Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks and Rickard Rakell of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Aside from his goal and assist, Zibanejad also played a sound defensive game. He nearly had a scoring chance when he blocked a shot in the Sweden defensive zone and then rushed down the ice, but was turned away by Clara.
Italy’s starting goalie also denied Zibanejad earlier in the period on a great chance at the side of the net. Zibanejad then nearly made the Rangers’ worst fears from these Winter Games come true when he got up gingerly after getting tangled up with Italy forward Tommy Purdeller.
But the Rangers and their fans breathed a sigh of relief when Zibanejad didn’t miss a shift after the awkward fall.
