New York Rangers Officially Discipline Mika Zibanejad Following Latest Development
Photo credit: Athlon Sports
The discipline has arrived for Mika Zibanejad after the Rangers lost the game to the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2. After Zibanejad's lack of production, Peter Laviolette has demoted Zibanejad to the 2nd power-play unit.
Mika Zibanejad was a non-factor in the New York Rangers loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night.
He'd only register 5 shots on goal last night, with -2, and 2 giveaways against the Atlantic Division juggernauts.
And now, the consequences have started to arrive for the team's veterans. Chris Kreider was scratched against the New Jersey Devils, and now Mika Zibanejad has been demoted to the 2nd power-play unit.
Alexis Lafreniere has replaced Mika on the 1st power-play unit seen in footage captured by Newsday's Colin Stephenson.
The Rangers rank 23rd among all NHL teams in power play percentage as they sit at 17.9%.
With this move, could the Rangers see an improvement on the power play? Chris Kreider himself has been notoriously cold, as someone who has been a league leader in power-play goals before.
«It's supposed to be a strength of our team,» Chris Kreider said about New York's power play. «Tonight it was a detriment.»
Mika needs to take big strides to overcome hurdles, he's set up for himself.
With six goals and 15 assists for 21 points on the year, he is having a seriously bad year. Through 34 games, almost, if not all, of his average stats are down or in the negative from years past. His CorsiFor% is at 49.5%, which is well below his career average of 54%, as well as his PDO, which measures shooting percentage, and the goaltender save percentage, which is at a career-low 96.7%.
Could Zibanejad find his game once again, and become the player who was once MVP of the New York Rangers?
At this point in his career it's difficult to tell, but we hope he can rebound during the 2nd half of the season.
Previously on NYRangersInsider
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 29 | 2225 ANSWERS New York Rangers Officially Discipline Mika Zibanejad Following Latest Development Does Center Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers deserve a demotion from the 1st power-play unit? | ||
| Yes | 1845 | 82.9 % |
| No | 380 | 17.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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