Mika Zibanejad busts out of goal slump with two tallies in Rangers win over Flames

CALGARY, Alberta — Mika Zibanejad scored one of the biggest goals of his hockey career inside the Scotiabank Saddledome.There were other notable moments here that followed, like the time he recorded a natural hat trick in 2 minutes, 38 seconds to set a franchise record for the fastest hat trick in Senators history in February 2016.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.

But the golden goal he scored at 18 years old in overtime for Sweden in the 2012 World Junior Championship to end his country’s 31-year gold medal drought at the tournament was a defining moment of his career.So to say farewell to the rinky-dink barn in its last season as home to the Flames, Zibanejad did what he does best in this building and scored twice in a 3-1 win.The Blueshirts have desperately needed more 5-on-5 production from their top two centers.Zibanejad (1) and captain J.T.Miller (3) entered Wednesday’s game combining for approximately 11 percent of the Rangers’ total goals 5-on-5 (35).

The two are also key pieces of the power play, which went 0-for-5 in Edmonton and hasn’t found a groove yet.While Zibanejad’s play away from the puck has been effective and Miller has generated an abundance of scoring chances as one of the hardest working Rangers below the hash marks, the team has suffered without the necessary impact from those two on the scoreboard.The 33-year-old Zibanejad registered his first multigoal game of the season and the 46th of his 16-year NHL career Wednesday night.After banking the puck in off Flames goalie Devin Cooley off the rush less than a minute into the second period, the Swedish center blasted a one-timer from his sweet spot in the left circle on the Rangers power play.The power-play goal counted as his second of the season and first since the second game of the season.Rangers goalie Joonas Korpisalo, appearing in his second game of the season, ...