You know, it was impossible not to like Derick Brassard when he was in New York. He was productive in the 1A/1B rotation with Derek Stepan, scored big goals in big games, and had a personality made for Broadway’s big stage.
But when, in his third season playing for Alain Vigneault, the coach reversed roles and used Brassard rather than Stepan as his primary power match against the opposition’s top units, the then-No. 16 talked about how difficult it was to play that part and consistently be at his best.
When the offseason arrived following 2016’s ignominious first-round, five-game defeat to the Penguins in which the Blueshirts simply waved the white flag over the final seven periods of the season, management’s most profound move was to trade Brassard to Ottawa for Mika Zibanejad and a second-rounder.
And now, as No. 93’s third season as a Ranger has evolved, Zibanejad has become David Quinn’s go-to matchup center against the opposition’s top guns. Rather than outlining the difficulties of such a task, however, Zibanejad has welcomed the role.
“It makes me proud to know that the coaching staff has that kind of trust in me and our line,” the center told The Post after his empty-netter sealed Monday’s 4-2 Garden victory over the Senators. “It’s a pride thing for us.”
Zibanejad, who opened the season as the presumptive No. 1 centering Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich, has skated between Vlad Namestnikov and Jesper Fast. Until this one, Zibanejad had gone seven straight without scoring. Namestnikov had scored one goal in his last 13 games. Fast has not scored since getting one on opening night, 24 games ago.
“There are different ways a player or a line can contribute to a team,” said Zibanejad, tied for the club lead in points with Kreider at 21. “At the same time, you don’t want to settle for just playing well defensively.
“We had our best games against the other team’s top lines when we possessed the puck a lot. The last couple of games before this one, we were too worried about checking and playing defense. So I came into this game — and we did as a line — with the mindset of being more offensive.”
This was a crayon scrawl of a match. Neither team was especially sharp. With few exceptions, neither team played with crackling commitment. The Rangers seemed lethargic and much too content to play on the outside. Passes missed not by inches and not by feet, but by yards.
“One of the things we talked about between the second and third was that the team that played the most honest hockey in the third period would win the game,” said Quinn, whose team was tied 1-1 through the second primarily because of Henrik Lundqvist’s usual excellence. “I don’t think there was a lot of honest hockey from us [the first 40 minutes.]”
The Rangers buckled down, at least out of the gate, to take a 3-1 lead on goals from Lias Andersson — off his butt in the paint — and Kreider. The Senators cut the margin to 3-2 by getting the third extra-attacker goal scored against the Blueshirts this season (first since Anaheim on Nov. 1), but Zibanejad stepped up to nail it down and put an end to the club’s two-game losing streak.
Even when flush, the Rangers aren’t exactly blessed with depth on the wings either here or through the organization. The groin issues that have sidelined Mats Zuccarello for eight of the past 10 games and the broken thumb that has sidelined Pavel Buchnevich since Nov. 10 have taken their toll. But the Blueshirts soldier on. The Kreider-Kevin Hayes-Filip Chytil unit has emerged as the go-to offensive line.
In the meantime, defensemen have accounted for a collective 10 goals in the last 12 games, and seven at even-strength. All seven D have scored at least one, with Marc Staal getting on the board in the first period of this one.
“All of the good teams use their D to join the play and create havoc and chaos in the offensive zone,” Zibanejad said. “It’s important for them to join in, even the stay-at-home guys. Maybe they open it up for someone else to score.”
On this night, the Rangers scored just enough. They did it with some balance, with some late grit, and solid two-way work from Zibanejad and his linemates.
“Mika has embraced the role,” Quinn said of the center the Blueshirts acquired in exchange for one who did not quite do that.