Zibanejad's keenness to shoot from anywhere admittedly made him the beneficiary of some friendly bounces off of Jets on Tuesday when he scored in the opening minute of each period, leaving him with 25 goals on the season. Since the All-Star break, Zibanejad has put in eight goals in the Rangers' eight games, and has scored 13 times in his last 11 games overall, dating to Jan. 15. He is the league's leading goal-scorer over that month's span, over which he has 19 points - entering Thursday night's games, only Boston's Brad Marchand had more (5-15-20). Zibanejad's linemate, Mats Zuccarello, was tied for fourth in that category with 16 points (2-14-16).
Zibanejad is one of only three Rangers in the last 30 seasons to rack up 13 goals over an 11-game stretch: Adam Graves did it when he scored 52 goals in 1993-94, and Jaromir Jagr when he broke Graves' franchise record with 54 goals in 2005-06.
"I'm definitely trying not to pass up any shot opportunities I have. They're going in right now, so I don't see a reason not to shoot," said Zibanejad, who leads the Rangers this season with 165 shots. "I'm getting great looks from those two" - linemates Zuccarello and Chris Kreider - "last game was obviously very lucky, but the other goals, I have Zucc to thank for all of them. I'm just trying to be in the right spot right now - the puck is finding me, they're finding me."
Quinn has spoken at length about how Zibanejad's numbers from the early part of the year weren't reflective of how well the centerman was playing, so when Zibanejad's name came up on Thursday, it raised a subject the coach had discussed plenty recently but one he certainly hasn't tired of.
"Keep asking," he said. "If he keeps scoring, keep asking."
Are you marveling at the numbers he's been putting up?
"No, because I think we've talked about what happened earlier in the year when he was playing really well and he wasn't getting rewarded statistically, so I think it all evens out," Quinn said. "I think he's probably got the points he should have based on his season, where he was playing really well early and wasn't getting rewarded statistically, whereas now he continues to play well - and probably elevated his game - and he's getting rewarded statistically in crazy numbers."
It was impossible not to marvel, though, at Alexandar Georgiev's most recent outing, when he set a Madison Square Garden record for saves by a Ranger goaltender with 55 stops against the Maple Leafs on Sunday. It also may not be surprising that Georgiev earned himself another start, and quickly: He'll start in goal on Friday for the third time in five games.
"You want to get him back in, and every decision is based on what's best for both of them, not just one guy," Quinn said of Georgiev and Henrik Lundqvist. "Georgie's playing well, he's a young kid that we want to continue to see what he can do and develop, continue to prove himself at this level. And I also think Georgie playing a little bit more down the last stretch here will make Hank better. I think they both will benefit from that."
Those goaltenders saw some shots in practice on Thursday afternoon from one new face: Connor Brickley, who was called up from Hartford in the morning. Brickley, acquired from Nashville on Jan. 14, has 67 NHL games under his belt with the Florida Panthers; he skated on a line Thursday with Boo Nieves and Filip Chytil. "Guys felt like he was playing well down there, he gives us a little bit of an energy and kind of what we were looking for," Quinn said. "So we'll give him an opportunity."
This is the Rangers' third and final meeting with the Sabres, after the first two were decided by 3-1 scores, and by the goaltenders. In Game 2 of the season, back on Oct. 6, Carter Hutton stopped 43 of 44 shots to steal one from the Rangers and earn Buffalo its first win of the year. One month later Lundqvist returned the favor at the Garden, turning out 39 of 40 Sabre shots while Jimmy Vesey scored twice.
Georgiev, in fact, got in on that action last season, on March 24, when he made 43 saves on 44 shots for a 5-1 win in his ninth career start, his only career appearance against the Sabres. Hutton's 19-save Nov. 4 loss at the Garden was the first in his career against the Blueshirts; he is 4-1 with a 1.48 goals-against average and .953 save percentage against them
While the Rangers play game No. 2 of this four-game road stretch, Buffalo will be wrapping up a seven-game homestand in which they alternated a loss followed by a win over the first six. Last time out, they put an end to the Islanders' three-game winning streak; the Sabres - who immediately after that Nov. 4 loss on Broadway began a franchise-record-tying 10-game winning streak - have not won back-to-back games since mid-December.
