Games where Mika Zibanejad has not resembled himself have piled up this season.
The Rangers’ No. 1 center has been both gripping his stick and struggling with puck management on both sides of the game, and it all reared its ugly head in a minus-four, turnover-plagued performance in the team’s 6-3 loss to the NHL-leading Jets on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“I can’t speak for Mika,” head coach Peter Laviolette said when asked if he felt the Swede was getting frustrated. “We count on Mika. He’s an impact player for us. Not him, but sometimes when you are pushing on offense to try and make things happen, then things can go the other way for us. Like they did for us tonight as a group, not specifically speaking about him.”
Despite a strong start from the Rangers, the Jets struck first just 57 seconds into the game after Zibanejad presumably intended to spring Artemi Panarin for a breakout.
The puck went to no one and Winnipeg hammered it back into the zone with ease.
Mark Scheifele, left alone in front, received the puck and put it in for the 1-0 score.
Another O-zone giveaway from Zibanejad in the second period sprung an odd-man rush for the Jets, who retook the lead, 3-2, on a goal from Kyle Connor.
Zibanejad was later pickpocketed in the neutral zone to kick off the third period, which allowed the Jets to pinball the puck back toward the net before Scheifele scored his second of the game to pull his team ahead by two just over a minute into the final frame.
“There’s isolated incidents for everybody out there where we could’ve done something different, whether it be puck decisions or whether it be a little bit more responsible when we’re pressing in the offensive zone,” Laviolette said. “There’s definitely situations where we could’ve done some things better. Offensively, I still think that we were on the attack.
“It’s one of those games where you’re punching, trying to punch away at them and generate offense and sometimes you’ve got to cover up and make sure that you’re not coming back and getting beaten the other way. Those incidents cost us tonight.”
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin saved 27 of the 32 shots he faced in his fourth loss of the season.
The K’Andre Miller-Jacob Trouba pairing was on the ice for three of the Jets’ last four goals, the one they weren’t on for being the empty-netter. Miller finished with a minus-four rating, the worst among the Blueshirts defense, in 19:19 of ice time.