Time off proving beneficial for Rangers’ Chris Kreider
It’s been a rocky season for the New York Rangers’ longest-tenured player, Chris Kreider, who’s been open about his on-ice struggles and issues with back spasms dating back to the start of training camp.
After taking some time off, missing four games, Kreider looks much better in his return to the lineup, especially in the Rangers’ 5-3 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night.
As New York’s season continues on an upward trend — the Rangers are 5-1-2 in the New Year — having a healthy Kreider in the lineup provides yet another boost as the Rangers (21-20-3) try to climb back into the playoff race after a dismal two-month stretch of hockey put them on the outside looking in.
The Rangers are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, though have five teams ahead of them in the standings.
Not only did Kreider score the game-winning goal in the third period against Utah, but he was one of the Rangers’ most effective players, finishing plus-2 in 16:34 of ice time during his second game since returning to the lineup.
“He was excellent tonight,” coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. “He was one of our most noticeable players. I thought he got better as the game went on in Colorado. I thought the third period was his best period, and then he came out and played three sharp periods for us tonight, and had a huge impact in the game.”
In a game where the Rangers did not start out so well, Kreider came up with his best full-game performance maybe of the season, which is a great sign going forward. As things stand, Kreider is projected for one of the lowest point totals of his career. However, that could quickly change depending on how healthy he is the rest of the way this season.
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from 5-3 comeback win in Utah
Rangers get huge boost from healthy Chris Kreider
Kreider is tied for second on the Rangers with 14 goals, but has just two assists. Including his final game before he was placed on IR with an upper-body injury, a 7-4 loss to the Washington Capitals on Jan. 4, Kreider has two goals in his past three games, three in five and four in eight. He’s played so well since his return that Laviolette put him back on the first power-play unit in the third period against Utah.
“The power play moves around,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got good players, we trust whoever goes out there. (Kreider) is one of the best in the business at the net front. When he was out, the power play did okay, I think they went 4-for-6, but we hadn’t connected on it yet, so we switched it up and tried something different.”
While his goal came at even strength, it is a good sign that Kreider is playing well enough to earn his way back to the top power-play unit. After a stretch of solid play the past two games, getting rewarded with a goal came at the perfect time for both the player and the team.
Playing Kreider on the third line with Filip Chytil and Arthur Kaliyev, who scored his first goal with the Rangers in the victory, gives New York a different look. The Rangers are less predictable after breaking up the Kreider-Mika Zibanejad duo. Kreider also seems to be generating some chemistry with Chytil, who also just returned to the lineup after an upper-body injury.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Kreider was on the ice for 14 scoring chances for, eight against, and was 3-0 in high-danger chances against Utah. He also finished the night with an expected goals for of 2.16.
Needless to say, if Kreider can remain at this level of play compared to his first half of the season, it will give the Rangers a much-need boost in their fight for a playoff berth.
More About:New York Rangers News
Read This Next
