*Photo from CBS Sports*
Yeah, I think New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad is off the schneid. What a night it was for him. Zibanejad put up a hat trick, added another 3 assists, and the Rangers absolutely rolled over the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night, with a 9-0 rout at Madison Square Garden.
The first period was two goals for the Rangers, with Brenden Lemieux and Artemi Panarin scoring. The second period featured 7 goals from the Rangers. First, Pavel Buchnevich scored twice to make it a 4-0 lead for the Rangers. Then, Jacob Trouba scored to make it a 5-0 lead. Zibanejad then ripped off 3 straight goals, one short handed, one on the power play, and one at even strength. Filip Chytil scored with 21 seconds left to make it 9-0.
Zibanejad had been struggling prior to this game, saying that "I've been trying to get myself through this and it hasn't been easy, but it is what it is. It's one game, but I feel like the game just overall has been feeling a little bit better for the past little bit here. Production is a big part of it when you get the ice time I've been getting and the role that I have, but as long as we keep winning then I'm happy."
Alexandar Georgiev got the start for the Rangers and posted a perfect outing, stopping all 26 shots that came his way in a sparkling outing after a couple games on the bench. Georgiev's record improved to 5-4-2 with the win, while the Rangers sit in 6th place in the NHL's East Division, with a 12-12-4 record, right behind the Flyers.
The Rangers had the AHL head coach Kris Knoblauch as their head coach, with their entire NHL coaching staff in quarantine. Knoblauch said of getting the call that "Getting the call at 11:30 that you might be. I rush home and pack. Initially it was going to be one game, but then they're like, 'Well, you might be going on the road trip,' so then you pack extra. Really, you didn't have much time to think about it. Everything was laid out for us by the coaching staff and when the game started there are some nerves, definitely some excitement, but then you've got to get into game mode, coach mode. It's certainly a night that I'll never forget."
Brian Elliott got the start for the Flyers, getting hit with the loss in a pretty bad night. Elliott stopped just 8 shots out of 13 that came his way before he was pulled in favor of Carter Hart, who didn't do much better, allowing 4 goals on 12 shots. Elliott's record fell to 7-4-0 this season, while the Flyers are 5th in the East, with a 14-10-3 record.
Flyers coach Alain Vigneault was not very pleased in his postgame interview, not happy that they got shut out and gave up 9 goals on the other side. Vigneault said in his interview that "No doubt that we weren't good tonight. We couldn't defend and couldn't make a play. Got truly embarrassed."
The Flyers take on the New York Islanders tonight, with Hart getting the start in goal. The Rangers face the Capitals on Friday, with Georgiev expected to get the start.
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