The New York Rangers fell 6-3 to the top team in the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets. Though the team was in contention for big chunks of the match, costly mistakes from Mika Zibanejad proved pivotal to the Blueshirts’ loss. After the game, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette sent a subtle shot at the Swede’s errors.
The Rangers‘ loss was the second time in three games New York’s franchise fell when allowing six goals. Defensive zone exits were an area of main concern for Laviolette and the team as Winnipeg made the most of odd-man situations.
Mika Zibanejad hasn’t had a good start to the season, whatsoever. The centerman has only two goals, through the first fourteen games. He tallies nine assists. Most worrisome is his plus/minus of -6. Against the Jets, Zibanejad was on the ice for four goals by the away side and none for the Rangers.
Plus/minus can sometimes be a misleading statistic and used to cherry-pick. However, during Zibanejad’s last outing the stat clearly highlighted his lackluster performance. The Jets scored three goals off of giveaways from Mika. After the game, Laviolette sent a subtle warning to Zibanejad, though he didn’t intend to throw him under the bus.
“Those incidents, they cost us tonight,” Laviolette said, referring to the team’s giveaways (mostly by Zibanejad), via NYRangersInsider. “It’s one of those games where you’re punching, trying to punch away at them and generate offense. Sometimes, you got to cover up and make sure that you’re not coming back and beating the other way.“
Although the coach issued a warning to Zibanejad, suggesting that he cost them the game with critical errors, he also gave the star a vote of confidence: “I can’t speak for Mika and where he’s at. You’d have to ask him. I know that we count on Mika, he’s an impact player for us.“
The Jets make NHL history
Winnipeg has entered the league’s record books after becoming the first team in history to win 15 of its 16 opening games. The Jets accomplished the feat in the most famous barn in the world: Madison Square Garden. Star Mark Scheifele talked on the importance of performing in such a big stage.
“You play at MSG, you’ve got to put on a show,” said Mark Scheifele. “It feels amazing. Obviously, it’s been a great start for us, but tonight’s over. Enjoy the win. And then back to work.”
The Jets are 6-0-0 on the road. They became the fourth team since 1967-68 to lead the NHL in goals for and against per game through their first 15 games. Winnipeg has scored five or more goals in half their games and have also scored a whooping 73 goals in only 16 games. The team coached by Scott Arniel averages 4.5 goals per game.
Though the season is only getting started, and regular season becomes irrelevant come playoff time, the Jets are looking like the team to beat in the West.
“We had talked about banking points at the start of the season. We’ve got a very tough division,” head coach Scott Arniel stated, via ESPN. “I don’t think I quite drew it up this way, but certainly the guys have earned every inch of it.”