Mika Zibanejad’s Rangers legacy hangs in the balance in these NHL playoffs

Regarding the Rangers, who face yet another Presidents’ Trophy challenger on Thursday night in Colorado after having gone 5-2 against the NHL’s top 10 since the All-Star break:

1. Mika Zibanejad’s issue scoring at five-on-five has been part of the narrative for years. It comes and goes. To me, though, it is more troublesome if No. 93 has trouble producing on the power play.

So Zibanejad wiring one in off a left-circle wrist shot — not a one-timer — with the man-advantage on Tuesday against the Flyers represented one of the more encouraging aspects of this wild 6-5 overtime victory.

The goal did not come in a vacuum. Zibanejad was assertive throughout the match in which he set up Vincent Trocheck with a brilliant backhand feed for a shorthanded goal in the third period. That followed strong performances against the Panthers and Bruins.

Everyone knows it. Zibanejad will have to be at his best if the Rangers are going to win 16 playoff games. If he is saving his best of the regular season for the last, so much the better, for it is imperative that the introspective Swede — whose Blueshirt legacy will be in balance this tournament — enter the playoffs with confidence and a positive mindset.

2. But as Zibanejad has been accelerating, Chris Kreider has been stuck in neutral for weeks. I don’t get it. In fact, No. 20’s play has deteriorated to the point that he was essentially benched for a large chunk of the second period in Boston last Thursday by a head coach in Peter Laviolette who all but never benches veterans.