Tonight's game at Madison Square Garden was already an intriguing one with Chris Kreider making his return with the Anaheim Ducks to face the New York Rangers, but new news from Mike Sullivan has got fans buzzing.
Mika Zibanejad benched for missing team meeting
Mika Zibanejad won’t play tonight, according to Sullivan. He missed a team meeting and this is the consequence. #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) December 15, 2025
The Rangers will be without their star forward tonight as Sullivan is holding him accountable for missing a team meeting. Zibanejad has appeared in 33 games this season for the Blueshirts and has scored 11 goals while adding 14 assists for 25 points. He's tallied two goals and three assists in his last five games, and averaging 20:26 a game on the season. Scoring 11 goals in 33 games is quite notable, as Zibanejad scored just 26 in 81 games during the 2023-24 season, and 20 in 82 games last season.
He's been known for his goal scoring prowess since joining the Rangers, and him getting back into a scoring groove is a great development for the organization. Zibanejad could theoretically finish with 30 goals or more for the first time since the 2022-23 season, but missing tonight's game will make that just a little bit harder.
Sullivan intimated that traffic was a reasoning behind Zibanejad's lateness, but even still, there's rules and a standard that they need to uphold. Zibanejad feels terrible about the situation, and even though he is missing tonight's game against the Ducks, he will be back in the lineup on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.
Sullivan acknowledged that “there are logistical challenges the city presents” that caused Zibanejad’s lateness, but added, “Mika understands the importance of the rules that we all expect of one another.”
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) December 15, 2025
“He feels terribly. The one thing about Mika is he's an honest person.… https://t.co/nCwIIfdxfz
Zibanejad will miss an emotional game at MSG
It is certainly something that Zibanejad missed a meeting that prevents him from playing on Monday, the day in which Chris Kreider returns. Zibanejad and Kreider are very close, and both had a great deal of success playing together in New York. The departure of Kreider is something that the organization has had to adjust to, and Zibanejad has adapted quite well all things considered.
He's back to looking like the player the fans have come to love since he joined the team from the Ottawa Senators, and he's been one of New York's most important offensive players. Not having him against the Ducks is a blow to the overall depth, and I am sure fans are disappointed that they will miss the chance to see both players take the ice together, albeit in different uniforms.