Mika Zibanejad was relentless in the Rangers’ shootout loss to the Golden Knights on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Leading the Rangers with a game-tying goal, the assist on a go-ahead power-play score and seven shots on net, Zibanejad kept his team competitive against a mighty Vegas squad that has now won seven of its past eight. He made an impact in every area of the game, blocking a shot, recording two takeaways and winning 15 of the 19 faceoffs he took.

Nothing could stop the Swede when he beat Vegas’ top-line winger Max Pacioretty to the puck, darted into the Golden Knights’ zone and pulled it back before unloading a missile of a shot that blew past goalie Laurent Brossoit just 17 seconds into the middle frame — the Rangers’ fastest goal to start a period this season. Or his pin-pointed pass that landed right on the stick of Chris Kreider for the effortless tap-in later in the period.

That was the Mika Zibanejad the Rangers need every game. Especially now, with Artemi Panarin sidelined with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

“When a guy like [Panarin] is out, I feel like I have to give maybe a couple more percent out there and try to help out as much as I can,” Zibanejad said after the loss Friday night. “You don’t need everything from one or two guys. You need a little bit more from everyone, and I felt like we did that [against the Golden Knights].”

After scoring four goals through the first 25 games of the season, Zibanejad has buried three in the past five games to go along with two assists. His goal on Friday was also just his third at five-on-five for the season and the first in 19 games, with his last one coming on Nov. 5 against the Oilers.

“Mika was jumping from the first shift for the whole game,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “I really liked his game. He stepped up big-time for us.”

Zibanejad’s line as a whole, with Kreider and Kaapo Kakko, has been effective for the Rangers in recent games. Generating nine scoring chances and six high-danger opportunities to go along with Zibanejad’s goal on Friday, the trio has produced a goal in two straight games after having the same amount in their first 10 contests together.

While Kreider became the fourth player in Rangers history to score 11 or more power-play goals through the first 30 games of a season, he also earned the secondary assist on Zibanejad’s tally and recorded five shots on goal in 20:35. Kakko, coming off a two-goal performance in Arizona earlier this week, was chosen to take the first shootout attempt for the Rangers on Friday.

Though he didn’t score, Kakko logged his most ice time so far this season (21:57).

“We haven’t played a lot together, the three of us, so it’s been a lot of communication, a lot of talk,” Kreider said. “I think we’ve taken steps these last few games to understanding what we expect from one another. It’s a really fast game. You’re not necessarily going to be able to make a heads up play every time, so I think we’re getting a lot better at putting pucks into areas, especially on the cycle, where we can relieve pressure.

“Not necessarily just going to spots and stopping, but there’s more of a flow to our forecheck and to our puck possession. That’s something we’ve been talking about.”