By the time his New York Rangers career is over, Mika Zibanejad will hold or be within spitting distance of a number of team records, but did you know there are a few records he holds already? Zibanejad famously set the team record for power play goals this season, and also moved up the list for total power play points. There's another pair of records that Zibanejad holds, and despite all the hand wringing in recent years about his dip in play, they speak to his ability to come through in the clutch.
Zibanejad is the Rangers' best overtime performer
Zibanejad currently leads the Rangers for most career overtime goals at eight, and he also has the most overtime points at 19. J.T. Miller is the only active player within distance of both records with seven goals and 12 points respectively.
The previous record of seven goals was held by Cecil Dillon, Butch Keeling, and Brian Leetch, and Zibanejad made history with this goal against the Chicago Blackhawks on February 9, 2024
Coincidentally, that was also his last overtime point, and that just speaks to how things have gone for the Blueshirts the last few years and their inability to get games to overtime. However, there is one overtime record that Zibanejad is still chasing, and that's the overtime assists record. He currently sits third all time with 11 assists, directly ahead of him is Mark Messier at 12, and Artemi Panarin is the leader 15.
It's been a while since Zibanejad tallied an overtime assist, and his last one came all the way on December 23, 2023 against the Buffalo Sabres. To the surprise of few, Chris Kreider scored the overtime winner that night.
Kreider and Zibanejad hooked up four total times in overtime, the first was a Zibanejad goal assisted by Kreider on March 15, 2022 against the Anaheim Ducks, the next occasion was Zibanejad assisting on Kreider's game winner against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 27, 2023, and then there was the above goal, and the previously mentioned goal against Chicago.
The only player who had more chemistry with Zibanejad in overtime was Panarin, and he was involved on five goals.
Panarin had the primary assist on Zibanejad's game against the New York Islanders in February of 2020, and he also set up Zibanejad's fifth goal of the game against Washington on March 5, 2020. After that he assisted on a different game-winner against Chicago, this time on December 18, 2022, and a winner against the Winnipeg Jets on October 30, 2023. The one overtime goal involving the two in which Zibanejad was the setup man came on March 11, 2023 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Zibanejad holds another set of records that speak to team's trust in him
The last set of records that Zibanejad holds is most empty net points and empty net assists. When Alex Ovechkin was chasing down Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record, there were some cranky individuals who tried to cheapen his efforts by pointing out he has 72 empty net goals to Gretzky's 56.
That feels like a silly thing to get mad about, because empty net situations generally occur when your opponent is trailing, although there are cases when you are trying to tie the game. In either scenario, a head coach has trusted you to do something to help the team win, and Zibanejad should feel proud that he's trusted late in the game.
The one empty net record he doesn't hold is empty net goals, and Panarin is the all-time leader with 19. There's a tie for second at 11 that includes Michael Grabner and Mark Messier, and there's also a tie at 10 that includes Ryan Strome, Rick Nash, Zibanejad, and Kreider.
Zibanejad will need 10 more to set a new record, and if the Rangers get back to playing the hockey they are clearly capable of doing, that's another record that could be his by the time his NHL career is finished on Broadway.
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