$68,000,000 Rangers forward makes his feelings known after '10-minute lapses' result in 7-5 loss to Kraken

The New York Rangers suffered a 7-5 loss to the Seattle Kraken at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Forward Mika Zibanejad, who signed an eight-year, $68 million contract in 2021, addressed the team’s performance after the game.

Zibanejad assisted Reilly Smith’s goal at 3:38 in the first period, continuing his four-game point streak. Despite his efforts, including three shots on goal in 19:31 minutes of ice time, they couldn’t overcome their defensive lapses.

The Rangers have lost seven out of their last nine games. However, they have slightly improved in their recent four games by winning two. But they are failing to start a winning streak.

"The result matters when you're in a situation like this,” Zibanejad said. “The situation we're in is because we've been losing, and we want to get back to winning games and putting a couple of wins in a row, and building something off of that.

"But I thought there was, other than the 10-minute lapses in the second period, I thought the energy was high. We competed, we played hard, and that's something we have to take with us."

NYR controlled the game in the first period but allowed four goals to Seattle in the second period. They tried pulling it together in the third with goals from K'Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere, but Seattle overpowered their defense and scored three goals, including an empty-net goal.

"I thought they were obviously desperate to get back into the game," Zibanejad said. "I thought we did a better job in the first, limiting their zone time. They were rolling and cycling a couple of times, and then a guy gets open. We weren’t really sharp with their movement in our D-zone to cover the guys who were open, and that cost us."

NYR was outshot 37-22 and struggled in faceoffs, winning only 37.5%.

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The New York Rangers' defensive failures cost them

The Rangers' ongoing defensive issues were clearly visible, with the Seattle Kraken capitalizing on open players during key moments. Reilly Smith scored first for the Blueshirts in the first period by pushing a loose puck into the net.

Oliver Bjorkstrand tied it at 1-1 with a power-play one-timer in the second period. Filip Chytil made it 2-1 for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck extended the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal.

Brandon Tanev scored at 14:06, followed by Eeli Tolvanen tying it at 3-3. Bjorkstrand’s redirection at 19:24 made it 4-3. Vince Dunn, Shane Wright, K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere, and Yanni Gourde completed the scoring.

Mika Zibanejad and the Rangers hope to regroup against the Chicago Blackhawks.