Mika Zibanejad may have needed to remind himself of the player he’s capable of being during last season’s playoff run, but the Rangers’ No. 1 center looked pretty sure of himself on opening night of this new season.
Behind a two-goal performance from Zibanejad, the Rangers earned a 3-1 win over the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final rematch Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. It was a solid start to the 2022-23 season for the Rangers, who held a significant edge in the special teams game throughout the night.
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The Rangers played a majority of the game with 11 forwards after Vitali Kravtsov went to the locker room early on in the first period. After absorbing a hit from Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, Kravtsov skated slowly to the bench crunched over before leaving the game.
