The Rangers most productive forward lately began the year in the minors, was hardly used last season and now the scuffling Blueshirts would be lost without him.
Chris Kreider has begun to emerge as one of the Rangers’ top weapons, and, arguably, their most lethal as Rick Nash works his way back into top form after missing 17 games following a concussion and captain Ryan Callahan is out through mid-January with a sprained MCL in his left knee.
In just 27 games, Kreider has eight goals and 10 assists, a plus-nine rating, and his goals have come at big moments. A mix of speed, size, skill and strength, the 6-foot-3, 22-year-old Kreider has scored four of his goals in the third period, and the Rangers might still be on a losing streak if not for his heroics Sunday night, when the second-year pro pulled the Blueshirts even with 7:53 remaining and they pulled out a 4-3 shootout victory over the Flames.
“He’s been playing great,” left wing Benoit Pouliot said. “With his speed, with his size, he’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to do. It’s nice, it’s what we need. We need a boost like that.”
Kreider doesn’t like to talk about himself, preferring to focus on the team. When asked about his recent clutch play, he sidestepped the question like it was a defenseman looking to check him off the puck.
“I’m not trying to play any different,” Kreider, who also has three goals and three assists on the power play, said on Sunday. “As a team tonight we played really well in the third. We were getting pucks to the net.”
After an admittedly poor training camp, the Boxford, Mass. product began the year with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He was recalled in late October with the Rangers in need of an offensive boost.
He has shown all the potential the Rangers saw in him when they took him in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, and brought him up to the big club for the 2012 postseason right after he led Boston College to an NCAA title.
Last year was a lost season. Kreider suffered a foot injury that set him back and he only appeared in 23 NHL games, scoring just two goals as he never gained the trust of former coach John Tortorella.
But he has made up for lost time, earning top-six forward minutes, and has produced at a high level at a time when few other Rangers are.
Somewhat lost in Sunday’s victory was the exceptional penalty kill of the Rangers. They killed off four of five Calgary power plays, including a 4-on-3 in overtime.
“They score a goal on us early, but we kept with it,” center Derek Stepan said. “The penalty kill has been really good as of late. We’ve really done a good job putting pressure on [our opponent].”
The Rangers penalty kill was fifth in the league allowing goals 17.9 percent (20 in 112 opportunities) of the time after Sunday’s games.