Mika Zibanejad Talks About Mental Struggles Through Difficult Slump

There has been a lot of talk about Mika Zibanejad and his overall play this season.

Zibanejad is off to a bit of a slow start for the New York Rangers and people are really starting to take notice of it.

While the veteran forward is not dealing with any serious injury, it's his mental state and confidence level that has been the hardest for him to overcome and really put into words.

"It's the hardest thing ever," Zibanejad said. "I can't explain it. I can always talk. I can always answer your guys' questions to the best of my abilities to explain it. I will never be able to fully explain what it is when you're in the situation."

The 31-year-old’s struggles reached a boiling point on Tuesday night when he committed two costly turnovers that led to Winnipeg Jets’ goals while overall he just didn’t look like himself out there.

Zibanejad is trying to keep positive energy through it all though and does not want to let a couple bad performances define him.

"I can bury myself in negativity and make it even worse, or try to learn from it and take the positives that were in the game," Zibanejad said. "My job is to go out there and play a good game . Whether I have a great game the game before or a bad game, it doesn't change. You're expecting me – and I'm expecting myself – to play (well) every night. It's not going to happen every night, even as much as I want to, but just play hard and have a short memory."

When looking at Zibanejad’s 11 points in 14 games, it actually doesn't look all that bad but it’s clear when actually watching him play that he is capable of reaching another gear.

Zibanejad is a very important piece to this Rangers team and they need their star center to elevate his game if New York wants to be successful and go on a deep playoff run.