Zibanejad called best among countrymen for season with Rangers

Mika Zibanejad took his place among the top players in the NHL this season. Victor Hedman, Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson took it one step further Thursday when they said the New York Rangers center has been the best Sweden-born player in 2019-20.

Zibanejad had 41 goals, 34 assists and 75 points, all NHL career highs, in 57 games before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. His 23 goals and 36 points led the NHL after the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, and he scored five goals in a 6-5 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on March 5.

The body of work was enough to convince Zibanejad's countrymen that his rise to prominence is significant.

"The best Swede so far is in this call, it's Mika," Hedman, a defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning, said on a videoconference arranged by the NHL. "It's been impressive to follow him, above all the five-goal game against Backstrom's Capitals. That was pretty sick."

Backstrom was on the receiving end of Zibanejad's first five-goal game in the NHL, which ended with his goal 33 seconds into overtime. It was Zibanejad's second hat trick of the season and fourth of his NHL career, part of a scoring surge that helped the Rangers (37-28-5) get within two points of the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets for a wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"Mika's been unbelievable," said Backstrom, a center for the Capitals. "Even if I play on the opposite team, you are happy for him. That game was unbelievable. He's been the best, carried the Rangers on his shoulders and leads them towards a playoff spot. That means a lot when you value a player."

In a wild game, Zibanejad gave the Rangers a 5-4 lead with his fourth goal at 18:18 of the third period before Alex Ovechkin tied it 5-5 at 19:17.

"It still feels a bit unreal to talk about it, like it never happened," Zibanejad said. "The game went forward and backward, as soon as a team scored the other tied or took back the lead. It was a fun game to play. It was a very fun night."

The game-winner made Zibanejad the first NHL player to score his fifth goal in overtime since Sergei Fedorov for the Detroit Red Wings against the Capitals on Dec. 26, 1996. He also became the first to score five in a game since Patrik Laine for the Winnipeg Jets against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 24, 2018

"I have to agree with Nicklas and Victor, Mika has been fantastic," said Ekman-Larsson, a defenseman for the Arizona Coyotes. "A lot of Swedes have been good, but Mika has been the best."

Backstrom and Ekman-Larsson each said he believes Zibanejad will break the NHL record for most goals by a Sweden-born player, set by Hakan Loob, who scored 50 for the Calgary Flames in 1987-88. If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Hedman said he thought Zibanejad had a chance to be the first player to score 60 in an NHL season since Lightning teammate Steven Stamkos in 2011-12.

If the season resumes in full, Zibanejad would have to score 19 goals in 12 games to get to 60. He's also scoring an NHL-high 0.72 goals per game, scored 11 goals in a six-game point streak and had at least one goal in 12 of 13 games before the pause.

"If this season had proceeded, I think we would have been sitting here talking about him reaching 60," Hedman said. "Mika's going to do it. I don't think I will do it, so I hope Mika does it."

Video: WSH@NYR: Zibanejad scores five goals, OT winner correspondent Peter Ekholm contributed to this report