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New York Rangers: Mika Zibanejad’s game for the ages

By Steve Paulus |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 05: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers scores his fifth goal of the game in overtime to defeat Ilya Samsonov #30 and the Washington Capitals 5-4 at Madison Square Garden on March 05, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 05: Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers scores his fifth goal of the game in overtime to defeat Ilya Samsonov #30 and the Washington Capitals 5-4 at Madison Square Garden on March 05, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: Alexandar Georgiev #40 and Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers celebrate a 5-4 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 05, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: Alexandar Georgiev #40 and Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers celebrate a 5-4 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 05, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

When Mika Zibanejad scored his fifth goal in overtime and won the game for the New York Rangers, it marked the greatest regular season game performance in franchise history.

How great was Mika Zibanejad’s night? It was the greatest single game performance in the regular season in the history of the New York Rangers.  There is absolutely no doubt about it.

All Rangers fans know that the greatest performance in a single game was Mark Messier‘s hat trick in Game Six of the 1994 Stanley Cup Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils.  Not only was it a must win for the Blueshirts, Messier actually guaranteed the win, then went out and scored three times.  Without that effort by Messier, there would have been no Stanley Cup that year and rival fans would still be chanting “1940” to torment us.

But, there has never been a game like Zibanejad’s in the regular season.  To cap it off with the winning goal in overtime just was the icing on the cake.  First a little history.

The other five goal games

Two other Rangers have scored five goals in a game.  Don Murdoch first accomplished the feat in 1976.   Murdoch was a 19-year old rookie and he scored five times in a 10-4 blowout of the awful Minnesota North Stars.

While it stands as the best game ever by a Ranger rookie, the game was relatively meaningless in the standings and it was against a pretty bad team that had a .400 winning percentage.

In 1983, Mark Pavelich scored five goals at Madison Square Garden in an 11-3 win over the Hartford Whalers. Again, this was against an awful team as the Whalers finished in last place with a .283 winning percentage.

While Pavelich did this on February 23, 1983 and the Rangers could have been in the throes of a playoff struggle, they actually finished 32 points ahead of the next team in the standings, the New Jersey Devils.

So, the fact that Zibanejad did it in a must-win regular season game as the Rangers are fighting for a playoff spot makes it more significant.  The fact that he did it against the one of the elite teams in the league makes it even more spectacular.

The seven point game

The Rangers franchise record for points in a game is seven.  On February 18, 1976 Steve Vickers had seven points against, who else? The Washington Capitals.  Again, this was a blowout by an  11-4 score and it was against a pathetic team. It was the Capitals’ second year in the league and they won all of 11 games that season.

True, Vicker’s was an historic performance and may never be equaled by another Blueshirt,  but it is dwarfed by the significance of Zibanejad’s achievement.

So, comparing Zibanejad’s night to the other individual efforts, there is no doubt that this game was the greatest regular season performance in franchise history.  If the Rangers go ahead and make the playoffs, take that to the bank.

Here are all five goals.  Enjoy them.

Some facts

For a little more perspective here are some other facts.

  • Only eight players in NHL history have scored more goals in one game. Darryl Sittler was the last to score six goals in February 1976.  The league record is eight goals, scored by Quebec Bulldog Joe Malone in 1920.

    • Five goals have been scored in a game only 50 times in NHL history, 55 times including the playoffs.

  • Five goals have been scored in a game only four times in the last 20 years. The last time it was Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets in November, 2018.
  • Joe Malone did it an incredible five times.  Wayne Gretzky is next with four five-goal games. Mario Lemieux and Newsy Lalonde also did it four times including once each in the playoffs.
  • The New York Rangers have been victimized six times.  The goal scorers were Syd Howe (1944), Bernie Geoffrion (1955), Bryan Trottier (1978), Tim Young (1979), Mario Lemieux (1993) and Marian Gaborik (2007).

    • The last time a player scored his fifth goal to win in overtime was

    Sergei Fedorov

    for Detroit in 1996, also against the Washington Capitals.  He scored all five of the Red Wings’ goals in that game.

    Related Story. Zibanejad's big night impacts the playoff picture. light

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