The best sports photos of 2020 from Getty Images

26. Celebrating a five-goal night

Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers scores his fifth goal of the game in an overtime defeat of the Washington Capitals, 5-4, and is joined by Tony DeAngelo at Madison Square Garden on Mar. 5, 2020, in New York City.

Yes, hockey is a team sport, but when one player has a career night, it’s a prime directive to have something of that player that captures the evening. In early March, just a week prior to the sports shutdown, Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers scored all five goals in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals. In this frame, the celebration of the winning goal is captured, as Tony DeAngelo heads towards Zibanejad to celebrate the goal and the victory. So sometimes, having a camera body sporting a fisheye lens, painfully hanging on one arm all evening, actually comes in handy. I quickly lifted the camera and held it up in what we photographers call a “Hail Mary” and fired about 30 frames in the general direction of the action. Throw in a piece of the distinctive Madison Square Garden roof, and I went home happy that night. So did Zibanejad.

— Bruce Bennett