"Typical Rangers hockey: Not a lot of shots on goal, but score a bunch, have Igor Shesterkin make a ton of saves, and score on the powerplay. The real story of the Winter Classic was Mika Zibanejad playing arguably his greatest individual game since the 5 goal game against Washington almost 6 years ago. The top players have been MIA all year, but showed up for the outdoor game to preserve the Rangers' perfect record without a roof."
"Mika Zibanejad had himself a night with a hat trick and five points, but without the heroics of Igor Shesterkin the Rangers might have seen this game slip away quickly. For the penalty killing in particular, Igor was brilliant all night long. The Panthers were awarded 6 power plays and aside from one weird bounce, Igor stopped them all. We have been starving for it as fans, but the Rangers finally gave Igor some run support en-route to a fantastic goaltending performance."
Mika Zibanejad produced a hat trick and five points, including a power-play goal and an even-strength score off a pass from Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. Igor Shesterkin delivered an outstanding goaltending performance, stopping virtually every Panthers power play and making crucial saves to preserve the lead. The Rangers generated relatively few shots on goal but converted when needed and received needed goaltending support. Zibanejad has faced top offensive matchups, serves on the penalty kill, and is quietly on a 70-point pace. Alexis Lafreniere recorded three assists and has five points across two outdoor games, showing promising form to build on.
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