The Rangers are scrapping around for depth at forward, and soon enough they will be able to look at rookie Chris Kreider as a possible option.
Suffering from a bone chip in his right ankle, Kreider began light skating Wednesday for the first time since an MRI exam last Thursday showed more than a bone bruise, as it was originally diagnosed after he blocked a shot for the Connecticut Whale (AHL) in early January.
“It’s better every day,” said Kreider, whose team will play host to the Penguins tonight.
Though Kreider is listed as day-to-day, there is no timetable for him to return to practice, and therefore no hopeful date for his return to the lineup.
Kreider, 21, started his first regular season rather innocuously after he became a national sensation in last season’s run to the Eastern Conference finals. In the first three games, he had no points and was a minus-2. When he was a scratch for last Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Philadelphia, it was assumed to be solely the result of his play, with coach John Tortorella even saying his development might be better served in the minors.
Now, Kreider said he still is unsure how much his play suffered because of the injury.
“I don’t know, it’s hard to say,” Kreider said. “Obviously it was an injury, but everyone is playing through something. I felt it all along. There were days where it was worse, days where it was better.”
* Tortorella has begun to see some progress from the power play after having it be a sore spot through the opening four games.
“The strong point, the goal, is people moving without the puck,” Tortorella said. “That created a couple chances for us. … We weren’t stationary and I think that’s very important to our power play.”
The Rangers went 1-for-2 on the man-advantage in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over the Flyers, with the game-winner coming from Ryan Callahan on a second-period power play.
The game before, a 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs, the team went 0-for-4, but started to create more chances.
The Rangers are 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) on the season, placing them 25th in the league before last night’s games.
* Stu Bickel, naturally a defenseman, skated with the fourth line in yesterday’s practice, a place he had played two games already this season.
Tortorella said there is a possibility that defenseman Matt Gilroy, who has been scratched for the first six games, could fill that role in the future, as well.