How quickly things can change. Then change again, and again, to where the Rangers’ seemingly long-ago playoff darling who had the Garden fans chanting his name has morphed into Chris Kreider being seen by his coach as a liability.
After his meteoric rise into the spotlight, Kreider has begun to see his minutes cut and his responsibilities diminish, treated like a 21-year-old with 11 career NHL games under his belt.
Whether his dip is a product of coach John Tortorella playing him less, or he has played less because of the dip is a chicken-and-egg scenario that will continue to play out under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden when the Rangers play host to their second do-or-die Game 7 in as many series, this one against the Capitals tomorrow night.
“[Kreider’s] a young man trying to learn the game, I’ll give you that,” Tortorella said yesterday on a conference call as his team got the day to rest. “I think he’s improving and we’ll see where it goes.”
Tortorella has been adamant about not commenting on individual players, but all that’s needed to know about his faith in Kreider comes in the 6:06 of total ice time the rookie received during Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in Game 6 in Washington. With three shifts in each period (only the first two coming closer than four minutes apart), Kreider never was able to get into the flow of the game and, at times, looked lost in his own zone, confused with his defensive responsibilities.
Playing the majority of the game with straight-ahead linemates John Mitchell and Mike Rupp, Kreider’s offensive ability went for naught. The former Boston College star has two goals and an assist since joining the club for Game 3 of the first round against the Senators on April 16. But he has zero points and a combined minus-4 rating in the five games since he scored the game-winner in a 3-1 win in Game 1 against the Caps.
The reason Tortorella has to play him at this point is because both Brandon Dubinsky (right foot) and Mats Zuccarello (left wrist) still have no definitive timetable for possible returns. Zuccarello has lightly practiced with the team, but is still wearing a soft cast on his wrist, while Dubinsky is still on crutches with his foot in a walking boot.
➤When Tortorella was asked if he thought the Game 6 loss was a matter of his team not showing up or the Capitals just being more desperate, he said, “The onus is on us.”
In that light, looking forward to Game 7, Tortorella said, “I have a ton of optimism in our club. Our club has gone through a lot of different things [and] I have nothing but optimism in our club.”