Mika Zibanejad, who remains scoreless through four games of the Eastern Conference Finals, committed a turnover in overtime that led to a penalty and the eventual winning goal for the Florida Panthers Tuesday, in their 3-2 win over the New York Rangers.
— Mika Zibanejad knew right away it was a bad pass.
The New York Rangers forward was trying to get a puck to teammate Blake Wheeler early in overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. But Zibanejad’s careless toss at the offensive blue line didn’t land, and while Wheeler tried to corral the puck, it was poked away by Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, who skated towards Aleksander Barkov.
That, in turn, forced Wheeler into committing a penalty against Barkov to prevent Florida’s captain from a clean scoring chance on goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
The Panthers earned a power play and Sam Reinhart capitalized seconds later with a one-timer, giving Florida a 3-2 victory and tying the series 2-2 as it turns back to New York.
« It’s making decisions, » said Zibanejad of the play. « I (saw Wheeler) kind of coming towards me. I think he’s open because (forward Will Cuylle) is going to the net, trying to make the play and they poke it and go the other way. I should have probably just made a different play, or decision, but I made the decision there then. I can’t change it now. That’s sports. I can just come back and try to make another decision next time and hope it goes my way. »
There isn’t much that’s gone right for Zibanejad in the series. He was terrific for New York through their first and second round Stanley Cup playoff series, recording three goals and 14 points through 10 games. He recorded zero points in the Conference Final though — same as linemate Chris Kreider — and that’s been a troubling issue for New York that they’ve been fortunate to overcome.
