Hartnett: When It Comes To Zuccarello, Size In No Way Matters

By Sean Hartnett
» More Columns

Mats Zuccarello has never thought of himself as a pure goal scorer. There's too much well-roundedness to his game to assign him any kind of label.

First and foremost, to describe him as a gifted playmaker would be typecasting a versatile talent who squeezes everything out of his 5-foot-7 frame.

"I've never been a goal scorer," Zuccarello admitted following the Rangers' 3-2 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Though he is often the smallest player on the ice, Zuccarello plays with a ceaseless motor across all 200 feet of the playing surface. While he's capable of producing magic with his stick both as a shooter and set-up man, his success flows because he's driven to come out the victor in every battle. The energetic Norwegian pursues loose pucks with the straight-line ferocity of a cheetah hunting a gazelle.

"He's been playing outstanding on both ends of the rink," head coach Alain Vigneault said. "(He's) one of our best two-way forwards. Scoring is maybe the final product, but he has set up a lot of guys for goals and he's played real hard on both ends of rink -- getting pucks out of our end, blocking shots when he has to. He's been a real competitor."

The days of Zuccarello receiving scant ice time under previous head coach John Tortorella feels like ages ago. Since Vigneault took the helm in the summer of 2013, Zuccarello has been integral to the Rangers' winning formula. This season, he is receiving the highest ice time of his career at 18:55 per game. Through 48 games, Zuccarello has recorded 38 points. He is on pace to finish the season with career bests of 50 assists and 65 points.

New Yorkers hustle and bustle across the busy pavement of the five boroughs. In Zuccarello, they probably see a little bit of themselves. He's just a nose-to-the-grindstone scrapper who deserves everything he earns. He works his butt off in practice and is addicted to taking shot after shot after shot to perfect his release. He'll never back down from physicality and doesn't shrink when opponents close to a foot taller get in his face. That's why booming cheers of "Zuuuuucccc!" sometimes rival the rhythmic chanting of Henrik Lundqvist's first name inside Madison Square Garden.

MORE: Hartnett: Lundqvist Bouncing Back Should Surprise Absolutely No One

"He's diving in front of shots and doing everything he has to for us to win," alternate captain Dan Girardi said of Zuccarello. "He's always out there making things happen, making the right plays and getting pucks in if he has to. If he has that play, he'll make a little dump play to a guy. He's on top of his game right now and that's helping us win. He shows a lot to our young guys in the lineup. He's not the biggest guy or the strongest guy, but he works extremely hard. He's always on the body, he's getting hit and getting back up. He's getting in the play and diving in front of shots. He's kind of the guy you want to watch and feed off of out there, for sure."

The 29-year-old winger entered Monday's contest in the midst of a 15-game goal drought. But it was only a matter of time before Zuccarello would get going again. And sure enough, his long wait ended 6:40 into the third period after J.T. Miller won the puck and sent a nifty touch pass to Zucc's wheelhouse. The diminutive winger probably couldn't have struck it any better, as he beat Los Angeles goalie Jeff Zatkoff top corner for the game-winner. He also led all skaters with three takeaways.

"Just because the goals haven't been going for him, he's still one of best players if not our best forward every night," Miller said. "He brings it on a 200-foot game and that's why he's the player he is. I think he's doing all the good things. Obviously, the goals would come. It was good to see him pop that one tonight. As I've said, he's one of our better players and tonight was just another example of that."

Season after season, Zuccarello has found ways to stretch his game further. At this stage of his career, he's nothing short of an all-around contributor. That might be the one label that fits.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey