Recapping Mika Zibanejad's Journey to 300 Goals

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, Mika Zibanejad's 300th career goal helped the New York Rangers pull out much-needed 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Mika Zibanejad has had quite a rough go this season, but he got the Rangers on the board early as he fired home a feed from Artemi Panarin on the power-play for the game's opening goal. It was the center's sixth goal of the season and the 300th of his NHL career, making him the eighth Swedish-born skater to reach that historic marker.

As a result of the milestone, the Rangers' social media platforms put out a visual recap of some of Zibanejad's most iconic goals en route to No. 300.

The Journey

The Ottawa Senators selected Zibanejad with the sixth pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, and he was eventually traded to the New York Rangers on July 18, 2016.

Going back to the start, Zibanejad reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career in 2014-15, finishing with 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 80 games.

Zibanejad then scored 14 goals in 2016-17 when missed 25 games with a broken fibula but rebounded with 27 goals in 2017-18 and 30 in 2018-19.

Flashing forward a couple of years — on March 5, 2020, Zibanejad scored five goals for the Rangers, including the winner 33 seconds into overtime, in a 6-5 victory against the Washington Capitals.

Other Milestones

As of September of 2024, Zibanejad only needed 16 assists to surpass 400 in his career, along with being able to hit 700 career points if he gets at least 22 more points, whether they are goals or assists. After play against Buffalo, Zibanejad sits just one point shy of 700 career points and is also just one assist shy of 400.

Up Next

Zibanejad's next chance to achieve his within-reach other milestones will be on Saturday, Dec. 14 when the New York Rangers return to Madison Square Garden to host the Los Angeles Kings. Puck drop is slated for 1:00 p.m. EST in a matinee matchup that will be available for streaming via ESPN+ and Fubo.