The New York Rangers are a better hockey team when Mika Zibanejad is fully engaged and playing with confidence.
Through four games of the 2025-26 season, they’ve been treated to an aggressive and assertive version of the 32-year-old forward. It’s exactly the start you’d hope for from a foundational player in desperate need of a bounce-back season.
“I think Mika has been terrific,” coach Mike Sullivan offered Sunday. “He’s all over the ice, he drives offense, he defends hard.”
Zibanejad seeks to erase a lackluster 2024-25 campaign, when he mustered just 20 goals and 62 points, despite playing all 82 games.