Zibanejad rues OT turnover in Rangers’ G4 loss
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
SUNRISE, Fla. — Mika Zibanejad knew right away it was a bad pass.
The New York Rangers forward was trying to get a puck to teammate Blake Wheeler early in overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. But Zibanejad’s careless toss at the offensive blue line didn’t land, and while Wheeler tried to corral the puck, it was poked away by Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, who skated towards Aleksander Barkov.
That, in turn, forced Wheeler into committing a penalty against Barkov to prevent Florida’s captain from a clean scoring chance on goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
The Panthers earned a power play and Sam Reinhart capitalized seconds later with a one-timer, giving Florida a 3-2 victory and tying the series 2-2 as it turns back to New York.
“It’s making decisions,” said Zibanejad of the play. “I (saw Wheeler) kind of coming towards me. I think he’s open because (forward Will Cuylle) is going to the net, trying to make the play and they poke it and go the other way. I should have probably just made a different play, or decision, but I made the decision there then. I can’t change it now. That’s sports. I can just come back and try to make another decision next time and hope it goes my way.”
There isn’t much that’s gone right for Zibanejad in the series. He was terrific for New York through their first and second round Stanley Cup playoff series, recording three goals and 14 points through 10 games. He recorded zero points in the Conference Final though — same as linemate Chris Kreider — and that’s been a troubling issue for New York that they’ve been fortunate to overcome. Until now.
“They’re working,” coach Peter Laviolette of Zibanejad’s line said. “We’re spending a little too much time playing defense, especially in the second period. That happened in the last game too. You’re not spending time in the right zone. Those players want to get out of the defensive zone and get in the offensive zone where they can make an impact in the game. There was a spot in Game 3 and a spot here in Game 4 where we didn’t get the push we needed out of the period, and it’s keeps guys from playing in the zone they want to play in. They’re not there.”
New York was dominated by Florida in Game 3, getting out-chanced 108-43 in shot attempts but finding a way to win 5-4 in overtime. The Rangers would not be so fortunate in Game 4. Despite New York jumping out to an early 1-0 lead off Vincent Trocheck‘s marker, Florida roared back in the second period with a pair of goals from Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe, the second on the power play.
Alexis Lafreniere evened the score for New York in the third to get the game to overtime but the Rangers were still outshot 40-23 overall, and the Panthers made New York pay for their most egregious mistake in the extra frame.
“We have the utmost belief that someone in the locker room is going to get it done,” Sam Bennett said of the Panthers’ game winner. “Tonight, it was Sam Reinhart.”
The fact Wheeler took Barkov down on what looked to be a breakaway attempt might have earned Barkov a penalty shot instead of giving Florida a power play. Coach Paul Maurice said he wasn’t sure which decision he preferred — only that the Panthers’ ultimately made the most of their outcome.
“I don’t know (what I would have picked); I really don’t know,” he said. “But if we hadn’t scored, I would have said penalty shot all day long.”
Florida’s best players came through for them, though. New York needs more of their top talents to start doing the same. Shesterkin was sensational again in Game 4 holding the Rangers in with a 37-save performance, but he can’t finish the job alone.
Laviolette altered the Rangers’ lineup going into Game 4 to try and preserve key players. Filip Chytil was a healthy scratch as he continues coming back from a six-month upper-body injury absence. That opened the door for Wheeler to step in for the first time since he suffered a gruesome leg injury on February 15.
It was hardly a triumphant return for Wheeler to be at the center of New York’s overtime penalty trouble. But Laviolette didn’t put any blame on the veteran forward for how he reacted to Zibanejad’s turnover.
“They got behind us,” said Laviolette. “It was a turnover at the offensive blue line and it was a tough spot for him to be in. There was a lot of heat on him, a lot of pressure. It was more what they did than him doing something. He was surrounded by a couple players. It bounces back the other way, the guys were chasing it down the best they could and ended up having to get a stick on him.”
New York will try and regroup now as the Conference Final becomes a best-of-three. And Kreider knows what his line has to do in order to help the Rangers get back on top.
“We’ve got to do a better job of advancing pucks up the ice and establishing an o-zone presence,” he said. “A lot of that falls on me. I’ve got to be able to get in there and win pucks. I’ve got to get my body on pucks, move my feet and allow us to get up the ice and start rolling.”
Game 5 is Friday at Madison Square Garden.
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Jeff Passan
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Jeff Passan
Senior MLB Insider
- ESPN MLB insider
Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” -
Jesse Rogers
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Jesse Rogers
ESPN Staff Writer
- Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, continuing the future Hall of Famer’s career at age 42 in one of the pitcher-friendliest stadiums in baseball.
Verlander, entering his 20th major league season, is considered perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, with the most innings pitched, strikeouts and wins among active players. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and joins a Giants team likewise looking for better results than 2024. The deal is pending a physical.
Shoulder and neck injuries limited Verlander to 17 starts, and over his last seven he posted an 8.10 ERA. With a falling strikeout rate and climbing home run rate, Verlander began to show signs of aging after a career in which he seemed impervious to it.
After a dominant 13-year stretch with the Detroit Tigers, Verlander found a second life after joining the Houston Astros in 2017. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 — and after the latter signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the New York Mets. Verlander spent 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to the Astros in August 2023.
Over his career, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA over 3,415⅔ innings. He has struck out 3,416 batters, walked 952 and won a pair of World Series with the Astros.
Returning to Houston wasn’t an option for 2025. With Oracle Park a dream for pitchers, Verlander gravitated toward the Giants, whose rotation includes right-hander Logan Webb, left-handers Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, and a number of other options for the fifth spot, with right-hander Hayden Birdsong seen as the likeliest candidate.
The Giants had spent a month with limited action before signing Verlander. A month ago to the day, they agreed with shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract.
San Francisco, which hired former star catcher Buster Posey as its president of baseball operations in September, went 80-82 last season and finished in fourth place in the National League West, which is arguably the best division in baseball.
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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026, the school and conference announced Tuesday.
“What a great opportunity for NIU Athletics as we expand our horizons, adapt to this new national model of college athletics and prepare to start a new chapter in the history of NIU Football,” NIU athletic director Sean T. Frazier said in a statement.
In addition to NIU, the Mountain West will include Air Force, Hawai’i, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming in 2026.
The move is another fallen domino in college sports’ ongoing conference realignment process that caught up to the Mountain West in the fall, when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announced they were leaving for the new-look Pac-12, which collapsed in 2023.
“We are excited about adding Northern Illinois football to the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “In evaluating NIU, the MW Board of Directors and Directors of Athletics carefully considered and were impressed by its history of football success and its commitment to academic excellence.”
It is unclear what conference NIU’s remaining sports will compete in once it moves to the Mountain West for football. The school said it will continue discussions with the Mid-American Conference — where it has participated since 1997 — but will also review opportunities in “several of the regionally based multi-sport conferences.”
The Mountain West also recently announced the additions of Grand Canyon and UC Davis for sports other than football (Grand Canyon does not have football; Davis will remain at the FCS level).
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Georgia added another potential playmaker to its receiving corps on Tuesday, as former Texas A&M standout Noah Thomas committed to play for the Bulldogs in 2025.
Thomas, who has one season of eligibility remaining, led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns this past season.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs added former USC receiver/kick returner Zachariah Branch, who was the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He had 1,863 all-purpose yards with the Trojans in two seasons and returned two kickoffs for scores in 2023.
At 6-foot-6, Thomas gives the Bulldogs a much-needed target in the red zone, which they were lacking this past season. His best performance came in a 43-41 loss in four overtimes at Auburn on Nov. 23, with five catches for 124 yards with two scores. He had six receptions for 109 yards and one score in a 21-17 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 28.
Earlier Tuesday, receiver Dillon Bell announced that he’ll return to Georgia for one more season. The junior had 43 catches for 466 yards with four touchdowns in 2024.
The Bulldogs are expected to lose their top two receivers: Dominic Lovett, who has exhausted his eligibility, and Arian Smith, who announced he’s forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Receiver Anthony Evans III also entered the transfer portal.
The Bulldogs led all FBS teams with 36 receiver drops this season, according to ESPN Research.
Georgia also landed two safeties from the transfer portal on Tuesday: Miami’s Jaden Harris and UAB’s Adrian Maddox, who had committed to Florida on Sunday. Harris started 13 games for the Hurricanes this past season and had 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.
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