Mika Zibanejad was adamant about the fact that it's easier playing alongside J.T. Miller despite both of them being centers.
Mika Zibanejad has been placed in an entirely new role.
After the New York Rangers acquired J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks, Peter Laviolette made a big decision to put Zibanejad at the wing so he could play alongside Miller.
Laviolette didn’t want to cut Zibanejad’s playing time, which factored into his decision.
“You move down the lineup you start to lose minutes,” Laviolette said. “Just trying to keep some players on the top two lines, it allows more minutes, more reps, more time on ice. I didn’t want to lose anybody, so I ended up making adjustments.”
Zibanejad and Miller have been alternating who takes the faceoffs through the two games they’ve played on the same line.
Some would think this is a major adjustment for Zibanejad, but in fact he actually feels it’s benefited him in a positive way.
“I think it’s easier to play with another centerman,” Zibanejad said. “Just for the faceoffs, it’s nice to have him on my weak side and his strong side. There are a few minor things in the game that could change for a winger rather than a center, but I feel like once we are in the D-zone or once we are in the O-zone we just play. We just play hockey.”
Ironically, Zibanejad and Miller were teammates with the Rangers from 2016-18 as the two are familiar with each other’s game, but Zibanejad emphasized that Miller has taken major strides since they were last teammates.
“He’s a smart player, he can make plays, he plays heavy,” Zibanejad said about Miller. “He’s strong on the puck and just has a very, very high IQ, which has gotten better from what I remember. It’s been a lot of fun.”
After the Rangers’ Sunday night win against the Vegas Golden Knights, Laviolette made clear that he has no intention of switching up the lines for now, so we’ll likely continue to see Zibanejad at the wing.