Mika Zibanejad officially back, to play tomorrow
It’s been 25 long games...
On Nov. 20, Mika Zibanejad broke his leg at the end of a shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.
On Jan. 17 - otherwise known as tomorrow - he will be back in the lineup.
#NYR @MikaZibanejad on the ice at practice pic.twitter.com/0GRc5dUeRs
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 16, 2017
"He's going to play tomorrow." #NYR Head Coach Alain Vigneault on @MikaZibanejad pic.twitter.com/gqI3tlhfgm
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 16, 2017
It’s been a long road back for Zibanejad. He’s missed 25 games over the course of his recovery; the Rangers have a 15-10 record in his absence, and have fallen out of the top three in the Metropolitan Division and into a wildcard spot.
Before he was injured, Zibanejad was averaging 16:41 a game for the Rangers. He had 15 points in 19 games, which is still tied for 12th on the team; if you go by points per game, Zibanejad’s .79 is third.
So it’s probably an understatement to say the Rangers are ready to welcome Zibanejad back - especially as they’ve gone through a mini-slump since returning from the bye week, dropping two straight games.
No matter what, though, this has been a long time coming - and it’s going to be really great to see Zibanejad back on the ice again, for real!
