Kreider, Zibanejad hope to step up with Rangers facing elimination in Game 6

SUNRISE, Fla. -- For the first four games of the Eastern Conference Final, there were only zeros. Mika Zibanejad had zero goals, zero assists, zero points. Chris Kreider, too, had zero goals, zero assists, zero points.

And then came Game 5.

Even though the New York Rangers ended up losing the game to the Florida Panthers, going down 3-2 both in the game and in the best-of-7 series, there were signs of life from two of the most important Rangers forwards. Zibanejad had two assists and Kreider had a goal and an assist, their first production since Kreider's hat trick in Game 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, a game in which Zibanejad also had an assist.

It's something the forwards will have to build on in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC) if they hope to extend the series to a decisive Game 7 back at Madison Square Garden.

"I thought they had good jump and good pop," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's hard to find the shots the way that [the Panthers] defend, get pucks through and on net. So, I thought that they did some good things out there.

"We need everybody tonight. It's not about one guy. It's not about two guys. It's about everybody that's in the lineup. We need everybody to grab the rope."

But offense from Zibanejad and Kreider would go a long way toward a win.

Despite his cold stretch in the conference final, Zibanejad remains second on the team in scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 16 points (three goals, 13 assists), behind only Vincent Trocheck, who has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists). Kreider is fifth on the team with 12 points (eight goals, four assists).

They have been stymied in this round by the smothering Panthers defense.

"Just go out and play," Zibanejad said. "Play our game, trust our game. Trust that if we do, if we have the right intentions and if we try to do the right things, it'll fall into place. And that's all you can control. I can't control how they play, I can't control anything else but what I do and what my intentions are. Some nights they're there, some nights they're not. Tonight, just hoping and making sure I do everything I can to help the team."

Asked why it's been so difficult to find that space in the playoffs as opposed to the regular season, Zibanejad said: "Probably need a drawing board and some video clips to show you the difference. But we're playing against a team that's really good defensively and may take time and space from you. But just got to find ways to create time and space for yourself. It's one thing to recognize it, but it's another to try to break it."

Kreider, who will play his 123rd playoff game Saturday, passing Dan Girardi for the most all-time among Rangers skaters, has 48 playoff goals, also the most in franchise history. Sixteen of those goals have come when facing elimination, tied with former Rangers captain Mark Messier for the most in NHL history.

He agreed with Zibanejad that the two -- and the Rangers as a whole -- just need to do what they can, when they can, that it has been a tight series and will continue to be. That's what has made it so challenging to play against the Panthers, including at 5-on-5.

"Playoff hockey. Big bodies. Everyone is boxing out," Kreider said. "It makes it hard to get to that zone on both sides of the ice. It's just on us to get creative and find ways to get pucks and bodies there."

And he expects nothing different in Game 6.

"It's been a tight-checking series the whole time," Kreider said. "Just got to continue to do the right things, get to the net, get pucks to the net."