One player can’t single handily win a game, but Mika Zibanejad sure came close. He scored five goals on Thursday to lead the Rangers to a 6-5 overtime victory against Washington. Zibanejad secured the hat trick just 12 seconds into the third. At 18:18 he gave the Rangers a 5-4 lead with his fourth goal of the game. The Rangers edge was quickly erased by Alex Ovechkin, but Zibanejad managed to net a fifth goal 33 seconds into the overtime period.
This was Zibanejad’s fourth career hat trick, but the first time he recorded four or five goals in a single contest. Zibanejad is up to 38 goals, which puts him in fifth place in the NHL. He’s been really climbing up the ladder lately with 20 goals over his last 19 games.
This was also a key win for the Rangers, who are fighting to claw their way into the playoffs. They’re just two points behind the Islanders for the final Wild Card spot, though the Islanders have played in one less game.
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PITTSBURGH 4 BUFFALO 2
Patric Hornqvist scored two goals, including the game-winning goal. He has 17 goals and 32 points in 49 contests.
Evgeni Malkin assisted on two of the Penguins’ four goals. That gives him 21 goals and 69 points in 52 games.
Matt Murray stopped 28 of 30 shots Thursday night. He has a 19-10-5 record, 2.83 GAA, and .900 save percentage in 36 starts.
Marcus Johansson netted a goal for the Sabres. It was his ninth goal and 28th point in 58 contests.
Jonas Johansson kicked out 28 of 32 Penguins shots. He has a 1-3-1 record, 2.94 GAA, and .894 save percentage in six games.
TAMPA BAY 4 MONTREAL 0
Andrei Vasilevskiy earned a 32-save shutout. It was his third perfect game of the season and the 21st of his career.
Max Domi fired five shots against Vasilevskiy. He has 17 goals on 174 shots, giving him a 9.8 shooting percentage.
Carey Price turned aside 19 of 23 shots last night. He fell to 27-24-6 with a 2.77 GAA and .909 save percentage in 57 starts.
Victor Hedman scored the Lightning’s first and fourth goals. He has 11 goals and 55 points in 65 contests.
Nikita Kucherov contributed a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay. That gives him 32 goals and 82 points in 65 games.
BOSTON 2 FLORIDA 1 (OT)
Torey Krug scored the overtime winner and registered an assist. He’s up to nine goals and 48 points in 60 games.
Boston’s other goal was scored by Patrice Bergeron. It was his 30th goal and 55th point in 59 games.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 of 33 Panthers shots. He’s won his last seven starts.
MacKenzie Weegar netted the Panthers’ lone goal. It was his sixth goal and 17th point in 43 contests.
Chris Driedger surrendered two goals on 26 shots. It was his first NHL start since Jan. 16th due to a lower-body injury.
NY RANGERS 6 WASHINGTON 5 (OT)
Mika Zibanejad netted an incredible five goals for the Rangers. He’s up to 38 markers and 71 points in 54 games.
Tony DeAngelo found the back of the net and registered two assists. He has 14 goals and 52 points in 65 contests.
Alexandar Georgiev stopped 29 of 34 Capitals shots. He has a 17-14-1 record, 3.05 GAA, and .910 save percentage in 33 contests.
Ilya Samsonov surrendered six goals on 39 shots. This is the fifth consecutive start that he’s lost.
PHILADELPHIA 4 CAROLINA 1
Carolina’s lone goal was scored by Justin Williams. He has four goals and seven points in 17 contests.
Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 28 of 32 Flyers shots. He has a 0-2-1 record, 3.45 GAA, and .866 save percentage in three games.
At the other end of the ice, Carter Hart saved 28 of 29 shots. He improved to 23-12-3 with a 2.47 GAA and .911 save percentage in 41 contests.
Michael Raffl scored the game-winning goal. He has eight goals and 20 points in 56 games.
Ivan Provorov also found the back of the net for the Flyers. It was his 13th goal and 36th point in 67 contests.
OTTAWA 4 NY ISLANDERS 3
Mathew Barzal scored a goal and registered two assists for the Islanders. He has 19 goals and 59 points in 66 games.
Semyon Varlamov stopped 25 of 29 Senators shots. That drops him to 19-14-5 with a 2.59 GAA and .915 save percentage in 44 contests.
Brady Tkachuk netted the game-winning goal. It was his 20th marker and 41st point in 68 games.
Anthony Duclair also found the back of the net for Ottawa. He has 23 goals and 38 points in 63 contests.
Craig Anderson saved 37 of 40 shots on Thursday. He’s allowed at least three goals in each of his last seven starts.
NASHVILLE 2 DALLAS 0
Juuse Saros stopped all 33 Stars shots. He has three shutouts this season and 10 in his 117-game career.
Alexander Radulov recorded a team-high five shots against Saros. Despite that, his goal scoring drought extended to 13 games.
Filip Forsberg scored the game-winning goal. It was his 19th marker and 45th point in 61 games.
Matt Duchene accounted for the Predators’ other marker. He’s up to 13 goals and 41 points in 64 contests.
Anton Khudobin turned aside 30 of 32 shots last night. He’s lost three straight starts despite holding the competition to a combined seven goals over that span.
CHICAGO 4 EDMONTON 3
Mike Smith stopped 17 of 21 shots before being yanked halfway through the game. Mikko Koskinen stepped in and saved 10 shots the rest of the way.
Kailer Yamamoto scored a goal for the Oilers. It was his 11th goal and 24th point in 24 games.
Alex DeBrincat netted a pair of goals, including the game winner. That gives him 18 goals and 42 points in 67 contests.
Jonathan Toews contributed a goal for the Blackhawks. He’s up to 18 goals and 57 points in 67 contests.
Corey Crawford saved 21 of 24 Oilers shots. He’s on a four-game winning streak.
LOS ANGELES 1 TORONTO 0 (SO)
Frederik Andersen posted a 30-save shutout. The Maple Leafs lost though because he allowed two goals on four shootout rounds.
Jonathan Quick saved all 36 Maple Leafs shots. He was beaten once in four shootout rounds, which was good enough to pick up the extra point.
Adrian Kempe scored the deciding goal in the shootout. Of course, skills competition goals don’t count totals a players actual total.
Anze Kopitar netted the Kings’ other shootout goal. He remains at 20 goals and 59 points this season.
William Nylander accounted for Toronto’s shootout goal. His next regulation goal would be his 30th of the campaign.
MINNESOTA 3 SAN JOSE 2
Zach Parise scored the game-winning goal and registered an assist. He has 25 goals and 45 points in 67 contests.
Ryan Suter also had a goal and an assist for the Wild. That gives him eight goals and 47 points in 67 games.
Joe Thornton found the back of the net for San Jose. He’s up to six goals and 29 points in 67 contests.
Martin Jones stopped 24 of 27 Wild shots. He has a 17-20-2 record, 2.97 GAA, and .898 save percentage in 40 games.
Alex Stalock saved 40 of 42 shots on Thursday. He has a 20-10-4 record, 2.58 GAA, and .913 save percentage in 37 contests.