Regarding the 30-13-4 Rangers, scattered across the globe until they reconvene for practice on Feb. 11:
1. It is the late winter of 2020 all over again for Mika Zibanejad, who may not be putting up quite the crazy numbers he recorded before the pandemic first hit nearly two years ago, but is playing at an elite level at both ends of the ice pretty much night after night after night.
When Zibanejad gets rolling, there is no Ranger you’d rather have the puck on his stick. He has elevated Chris Kreider’s game with one special delivery after another for No. 20. His shot once again is a lethal weapon after having gone on an unannounced sabbatical the first two months of the season.
The Swede’s rampage two years ago resulted in 23 goals and 13 assists for 36 points over the final 22 games of the truncated season. He scored goals on plays that were meant to be centering passes. His shooting percentage hit an insane 26.4 mark over that stretch.
Now, No. 93 goes into the recess with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in 19 games since Dec. 15. He is scoring goals on plays meant to be centering passes, such as on Tuesday night at the Garden when his two-on-one backhand feed meant for Ryan Reaves banked in off Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead on the match’s first shift. His shooting percentage over these last 19 games is at 21.0.
Moreover, Zibanejad’s play without the puck, his track-back from deep in the offensive zone to below the D-zone circles to break up odd-man rushes has been inspirational. His 200-foot game has never been better.
Mika Zibanejad has been the Rangers’ best player since the Dec. 15 mark, tallying 28 points in 19 games. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostOn a team with a Vezina contender in Igor Shesterkin, a Norris candidate in Adam Fox and a Rocket Richard front-runner in Kreider, no Ranger has been better than Zibanejad, who is again among the league’s elite centermen.
2. I was about to say that Braden Schneider is the most polished Rangers prospect I can recall since Ryan McDonagh made his debut midway through 2010-11, and that very might well be true as pertains to the 20-year-old.
But that may be a disservice to K’Andre Miller, who has handled top-four minutes and top-four matchups since his first game as a pro, and whose game has taken on a harder, more physical edge over the fortnight.
Sometimes we all forget: The 22-year-old has played all of 100 games of professional hockey, hopscotching directly from his sophomore season at Wisconsin to an assignment as Jacob Trouba’s partner.
“I know what I’m going to get from Trouba every night but ‘Key’ is growing up to be a man,” head coach Gerard Gallant said Tuesday of Miller. “He’s growing, the kid’s still not filled out the way he’s going to be, but I like his game.
“He’s going to make mistakes, we all make mistakes, but he’s playing a little more physical, he’s bumping more people, he’s clearing the front of the net and he’s confident with the puck now. So his game is growing for sure.”
3. Even if this were all that Jeff Gorton left behind as general manager, you might want to give that man a standing ovation: Ryan Lindgren coming from Boston at the 2018 deadline as part of the Rick Nash return; trading up to select Miller 22nd overall at the 2018 draft; and trading up to select Schneider 19th overall in 2020.
Schneider’s ascension means that Nils Lundkvist becomes the blue chip most likely to be played approaching this year’s March 21 deadline.
If the Rangers are looking to bulk up on the left side of their defense, perhaps a puck-mover who can beat a hard forecheck is preferable to adding size for size’s sake?
A Rangers glut of young defenseman could make Nils Lundkvist the odd man out at the NHL trade deadline. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post4. The Rangers had all sorts of trouble against Calgary early in the year when the Flames were firing, were run out of the rink twice by Colorado, couldn’t handle Carolina for a large part of their only meeting and have trouble keeping up with Vegas.
But the Blueshirts are 2-1 against Florida, 2-1 against Toronto, 2-0 against Tampa Bay and 1-0 against Boston, so, A) the narrative about the Rangers not being able to compete against the upper echelon does not quite hold; and, B) I hereby declare the Blueshirts champions of the Atlantic Division.
5. There alternately has been the good (very good) Alexandar Georgiev and the bad (sometimes quite bad) Alexandar Georgiev, and the Rangers are going to have to be able to count on No. 40 in his role of backup the rest of the way.
Georgiev is in a down cycle again, having lost his last three starts and four of his last five, compiling a 3.66 GAA and .871 save percentage over that span. That simply will not do.




