“You look at the goals and it´s unbelievable plays being made and today I was at the right spot at the right time. “It´s a night I´ll remember for a long time.” New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin and center Mika Zibanejad (93) celebrate after Zibanejad scored in overtime of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Thursday, March 5, 2020, in New York. The Rangers defeated the Capitals 6-5 in overtime; Zibanejad scored five goals. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) Zibanejad is the second player in NHL history to score his fifth goal in OT, joining Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov, who accomplished the feat on Dec.

26, 1996 – also against Washington. “I feel like I´m speechless right now, to be honest with you,” Zibanejad said. Zibanejad’s 38th of the season helped New York end a three-game skid and pulled the Rangers within two points of the Islanders for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. He took a pass from Artemi Panarin and broke in alone and beat Ilya Samsonov with a backhand. Zibanejad is the first Rangers center with at least 35 goals in a season since Hall of Famer Eric Lindros in 2001-02.

“You´d be hard pressed to match that,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “Early on, he gets the hat trick and just doesn´t stop.” The Rangers center is also the first player with five goals in a game since Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine did it in an 8-4 win over St. Louis on Nov. 24, 2018. Zibanejad joined Don Murdoch (Oct. 12, 1976) and Mark Pavelich (Feb. 23, 1983) as Rangers with five goals in a game.

“Sit back and watch it and enjoy it because it was a special night in so many ways for him and for us obviously to win a game of that magnitude, the ebbs and flows of it,” Quinn said. “It was a special night obviously, not just for Mika, but for all of us How to calculate standard deviation be part of it.” When Zibanejad first entered the locker room after the game, it was empty – until his hiding teammates surprised him and quickly mobbed him with hugs.

“I didn´t expect that,” Zibanejad said. “I knew something was going on when I came in and no one was in here.” His performance also wowed his teammates on social media, including goalie Henrik Lundqvist who tweeted: “Are you kidding me?

Sophomore guard Sasha Stefanovic finished with 22 points, five assists and five 3s to lead the Boilermakers (16-15, 9-11). Eric Hunter Jr. added 12 points. Purdue guard Hunter sank a layin over two defenders before Baker drained a turnaround 15-footer with 14 seconds left in regulation to give Rutgers a one-point lead. Hunter sank a free throw with 2.7 seconds left to force overtime. Jacob Young’s one-handed dunk over Haarms and free throw gave Rutgers a 66-63 lead with 3:22 left in overtime.

Stefanovic canned a 3-pointer to tie the score but Harper’s 3-pointer gave the Scarlet Knights a 69-66 edge. Baker then hit a 21-foot jumper to push the lead to 71-68 with 11.7 seconds left. The Boilermaker weren’t able to attempt a game-tying shot. The back-and-forth game featured numerous lead changes. Montez Mathis hit a floater in the lane to increase Rutgers’ lead to 47-43. The Boilermakers then missed five straight shots before Stefanovic scored on reserve layup with just more than nine minutes left.

After tying the score at 47, the Boilermakers regained the lead on Haarms’ two-handed slam off a missed 3-pointer for a 49-47 edge. Two minutes later, Baker drilled a step-back 3-pointer, but Stefanovic quickly answered with a 3-pointer to put the Boilermakers ahead 52-51. Baker scored back-to-back baskets to give the Scarlet Knights a 55-52 lead. Baker drilled a crossover 17-footer for his ninth straight point to increase Rutgers’ lead to 57-54.

Mathis made two free throws to make it a two-possession game for a 59-55 lead with 1:27 left, but Stefanovic buried a 23-footer to lower the deficit to 59-58. –Field Level Media Advertisement