Mika Zibanejad suffers brutal injury in NY Rangers' loss

For the New York Rangers, the Mika Zibanejad trade has been an immediate success. The 23-year-old forward had 14 points in his first 18 games, and added a goal to that total against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night.

But in overtime of that game, Zibanejad appeared to suffer a brutal injury to his ankle:

Just 41 seconds into the extra session, Zibanejad was chasing Reilly Smith of the Panthers around the back of the net. Their feet were tangled briefly, and Zibanejad crashed into the end boards. His left foot bent awkwardly and painfully.

Zibanejad was in considerable pain, and was helped off the ice by his teammates:

The Rangers lost in the shootout, 3-2. But might have lost much more in Zibanejad.

UPDATE: The Rangers announce Zibanejad has a broken fibula. He’s expected to be out 6-8 weeks.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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