In New York Mika Zibanejad may be a prince, but in Sweden he’s a hero and he’s showing that at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
With the score tied at 2-2 Zibanejad ripped the puck top shelf, scoring the game-winning goal to propel Team Sweden past Team Austria on Saturday night.
Keep in mind, that was also after Zibanejad scored to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period, so it was a pretty good night for the veteran forward to say the least.
Team Sweden was also down 2-1 in the final minutes before scoring two goals in 12 seconds. Madness is the best word to describe it.
When Zibanejad scored that game-winning goal, he showed some emotion that we don’t typically see out of him.
Generally, Zibanejad is more calm and reserved with his celebrations, but this goal was different.
He put his fists in the air in pure joy and then proceeded to throw himself into the glass to interact with the fans.
It was a sea of yellow in the stands at Avicii Arena and the fans were losing their minds for Zibanejad after he put on the red cape and delivered a victory for his team.
Once Zibanejad’s name was announced on the jumbotron, the entire arena erupted in cheers as you couldn’t hear a thing aside from the fans rejoicing with each other
It’s a moment that Zibanejad considers to be one of the most exciting of his career.
“To do it at home in front of our fans, sold out at Avicii Arena, it doesn't get any better than that,” Zibanejad said. “Everytime you get to do it at home, it’s amazing.”
The 32-year-old now leads the entire tournament with three goals.
