Mika Zibanejad and his New York Rangers still haven’t lost a game in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs after beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round series at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.
And Zibanejad was the catalyst in front of a raucous home crowd, scoring two goals and adding an assist — all in the first period — as the Blueshirts took care of business in the opener.
“As an offensive guy, you want to get involved and when you score and you’re able to contribute to a win, and help your team win, that’s a good feeling,” the Rangers leading playoff scorer said after the triumph, per NHL.com’s David Satriano.
“But it’s one game. We’ve just got to keep going.”
The Rangers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after Zibanejad deposited a slick feed from trade deadline acquisition Jack Roslovic before the game was four minutes old.
After Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin tied the game just a minute later, the Swede scored his second on the powerplay, this time on a gift from Chris Kreider.
Vincent Trocheck would score again with the man advantage in the first to give New York a 3-1 lead, which became 3-2 before Artemi Panarin scored the eventual game-winning goal midway through the third period. Seth Jarvis would beat Igor Shesterkin with under two minutes in regulation, but that’s as close as the Hurricanes would get in Game 1.
“Playoffs for me is completely game to game,” Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said of his team’s perfect 5-0 start in the postseason. “We’re going to have to take a look at what we did right, try to bring that back to the table. … We’re going to have to elevate our game as well.”
Rangers remain perfect as chase for Lord Stanley continues
The Rangers last won the Stanley Cup exactly three decades ago when Mark Messier led the team to a thrilling Game 7 win over the Vancouver Canucks in 1994.
In 2023-24, on the heels of winning their first President’s Trophy since 2015, the Blueshirts again look hungry in their quest to bring Lord Stanley to the Big Apple.
“We really wanted to have a good start, especially at home, Game 1,” said Zibanejad, per the Associated Press. “Been off for a few days and been able to rest, and I thought that was most noticeable. Guys were excited to play and when we’re able to score on our chances early on and get a little bit momentum, that was good.”
Zibanejad has been exceptional in the playoffs after a bit of a down regular-season; he’s up to four straight multipoint games, accounting for nine points in that span.
“Mika does everything for us,” Kreider said afterwards, per AP. “Face-offs, responsible in his own zone, detailed, contributes offensively. We’re really lucky to have two centermen [Zibanejad and Trocheck] like that.”
If Game 1 is any indication, this Rangers-Hurricanes series — as it was when the teams met two years ago — is going to be a dandy. But right now, New York will simply not be denied as they take a 5-0 record into Game 2 at MSG on Tuesday night.
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