What was said in Friday's post practice New York Rangers media availability

It is time for National Hockey League fans to turn their attention back to the rest of the regular season.

The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off concluded on Thursday, February 20th with another championship for Team Canada. Although not one New York Ranger was a member of the Canadien roster, the Blueshirts were still among one of the few NHL teams with over five players selected for the tournament — Mika Zibanejad (Sweden), Urho Vaakanainen (Finland), Vincent Trocheck (USA), Chris Kreider (USA), Adam Fox (USA), and J.T. Miller (USA).

The Rangers quickly return to action, traveling to Buffalo on Saturday as there will be a full slate of games as 28 of the league's 32 teams return to the ice on Feb. 22nd.

Following Friday's practice, Zibanejad and New York Head Coach Peter Laviolette met with the media to discuss the transition back to the regular season. Here's what we learned.

Significant 2/21/25 Quotes from Peter Laviolette

The biggest news Blueshirt fans received on Friday was when Laviolette revealed that all six Rangers' players who played in the 4 Nations Face-Off will available without restrictions in Buffalo on Saturday.

"We've just got to focus on [Saturday] and making sure we're ready to play. They're a really good team and they've got good players and are well coached. They're capable of beating everyone and we're going to have to be sharp with our game," Laviolette said.

"[We sent Zac Jones to Hartford] to play some games," Laviolette said. "I think its a good thing he wanted to go as well and I think that's a good thing he's going to get on and get an opportunity to play some games and get in game shape. At some point you just want to play and it's a good opportunity for him to get some minutes."

"I'd certainly like to see [Zibanejad] pick up where he left off. I thought he played well in the tournament and he was certainly playing well for us," Laviolette said. "I think with that comes a certain amount of confidence and so just get him right back to that."

When asked about a status report on 4 Nations Team USA roster member Vincent Trocheck — as reports were surfacing that he sustained a broken finger — Laviolette expectedly did not reveal much.

"We don't comment on any of that. As far as [Trocheck] goes he hasn't missed any games so we have nothing to report," Laviolette said.

Significant 2/2/25 Quotes from Mika Zibanejad

Zibanejad was a man a few words in the locker room following practice, but he certainly got enough points across in both recapping 4 Nations play and talking about the future regarding the rest of the NHL season.

"Yeah, that first game against Canada was something else, with the whole ceremony before. It was great. Probably one of the more fun games I've played, the more intense, just the tempo — it was fun."

"Anytime you get to represent your country, I don't think you can compare that to anything ... We haven't had that opportunity in quite some time. [The 4 Nations Face-Off] was special."

Zibanejad also gave no indication that the Rangers who participated in the international tournament aren't ready to return to regular play.

"Guys have been skating for a few days now and I think it's safe for basically every team so we're right back at it. It'll be fun."

Up Next

New York's first game since the 4 Nations' break will be on Saturday in Buffalo. Puck drop is slated for 5:30 p.m. EST and the game will be available for streaming via ESPN+.