KANATA, Ont. — Glen Sather came walking down a hallway in the bowels of Scotiabank Place yesterday afternoon, and as the Rangers general manager passed 20-year-old Chris Kreider, stretching on the floor, he dropped a hint of inspiration.
“Go have some fun,” Sather said with a laugh.
Kreider smiled, and eight hours later made Sather cheer loudly for his newborn star.
The former Boston College standout played his best hockey as a pro and scored his first NHL goal, coming at a crucial time in the second period to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead in what would turn out to be a 3-2 win over the Senators in Game 6 of their opening-round best-of-7 playoff series.
Kreider’s game-winner helped tie the series 3-3, now set for a one-game showdown at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
“That’s been the message since I got here,” Kreider told The Post about his pre-game exchange with Sather. “There’s been no pressure from management or anything. They just tell me to go out and play hockey.”
It was Kreider’s fourth career NHL game and coach John Tortorella made it clear after a 2-0 loss in Game 5 that Kreider was going to have an increased role. With Brian Boyle out with a concussion, Tortorella shifted the lines and Kreider played on a very effective second unit with Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan.
“He’s handled himself well,” Tortorella said. “He played very well.”
With less than a minute to play in the second period and the Rangers staked to a 2-1 lead, Stepan came streaking down the right side and made a brilliant cross-ice pass to Kreider, who beat Craig Anderson on the blocker side.
“Those are just the kind of plays that he makes,” Kreider said of Stepan, who broke out of his playoff funk with a goal and two assists. “Not a lot people can make those or even think about making those.”
It was only 13 days before Game 6 that Kreider signed his first professional contract, leaving Boston College after winning two national championships in three years. The most recent came with a win over Ferris State on April 7 — a world away from the stage he was on last night.
“Everything has been a learning experience up to this point,” Kreider said. “It’s definitely something I need to just take a mental picture of: the intensity the guys brought and the way they played.”
As Kreider had his arms lifted and was celebrating what looks to the first of many goals — a moment he said, “didn’t really hit me” — Callahan, the captain, went a retrieved the puck.
He handed it to him with a smile that was less about a career first and a lot more about what Kreider had just done for the team.
“I think I’ll look back on it and be extremely happy and be able to smile,” Kreider said. “But the thing that’s important is we were able to come away with the win.”
bcyrgalis@nypost.com