Mika Zibanejad makes his feelings extremely clear on how NY Rangers can remain confident despite lack of wins – Source: Imagn

New York Rangers alternate captain Mika Zibanejad shared his thoughts about the team’s mindset following yet another devastating defeat at home. Despite their persistent struggles, Zibanejad made it clear that giving up was not an option for them.

The Rangers suffered a 7-4 loss at the hands of the Washington Capitals on Saturday. It has now taken their season record to 17-20-1. Speaking after the disappointing performance from his side, Zibanejad addressed how the Rangers could remain confident despite their lack of wins.

“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? What’s our option? What’s our option? Just say, ‘We’re done with the season?’ No, we can’t. I think we have a lot of faith in the guys that are here,” he said.

Zibanejad acknowledged that the challenges are big, but urged his teammates to focus on the positives.

“We have a lot of faith in the room. From the top down, we have to work. We have to keep working. I think we have to take the little things that we do well—we’ve done a lot of good things 5 on 5—we have to take that and build on it.”

Mika Zibanejad claims team has ‘no option’ but to stay positive

The New York Rangers are now struggling after a strong 2023-24 season and general manager Chris Drury eventually traded captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim and winger Kaapo Kakko to Seattle last December. The team hasn’t won back-to-back games since mid-November, and top players like Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox are all underperforming.

However, the Rangers alternate captain maintained that the team is not essentially searching for ‘options’ to get things back on track. He explained that the only way for the team to move forward was through consistent effort.

“That’s the only way we’re going to get forward,” Zibanejad said. “Yes, it’s not easy. Yes, it’s not going to happen overnight. But if it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. We have a challenge, and we just got to accept it and keep working.”

“We have no other option. We have no other option than try to stay positive, try to work. And just think about it: Tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity to get 2 points, a new opportunity to get a win and that’s what we have to do.”

He mentioned that each new day brought a fresh chance to secure a win and earn points, and that mindset was what the team needed to focus on.