Mika Zibanejad Scores 5 Goals, OT Winner in Rangers' 6-5 Victory over Capitals

New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad will never forget March 5, 2020.   

The 26-year-old scored five goals to propel the Rangers to a 6-5 victory over the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, and he made history in the process: 

Zibanejad went back and forth with 12-time All-Star Alex Ovechkin in the third period.

He put the Rangers up 4-3 just 12 seconds into the final period of regulation before Ovechkin tied things nine minutes later. Not to be outdone, Zibanejad scored on the power play at the 18:18 mark to put New York ahead again. Ovechkin sent the game into overtime with his second goal of the game at the 19:17 mark.

Zibanejad had the final word just seconds into the overtime period:

The 36-27-4 Rangers have now beaten 40-20-7 Washington in two of their three meetings so far this season.  

Zibanejad's stellar outing gave him 38 goals through 54 games, pushing him further ahead of Artemi Panarin (32) for the most of any Rangers player so far in the 2019-20 NHL season.

The former Ottawa Senator had already surpassed his own personal best for goals in a single season. The Sweden native had previously set a career high by scoring 30 goals across 82 games for the Rangers last season. He is the NHL's fifth-best scorer behind Ovechkin (47), David Pastrnak (47), Auston Matthews (46) and Leon Draisaitl (43).

The 2011 sixth overall pick summarized his five goals as being "at the right spot at the right time" when meeting with the media afterward:

Zibanejad was most happy the Rangers got the win, and it did have some noteworthy implications in the league standings. With Washington's loss and the Philadelphia Flyers' eighth straight win, the two are tied atop the Metropolitan Division with 87 points apiece.

New York is in the hunt for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 76 points, behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (79) and New York Islanders (78).