It took Martin Biron less than an hour to form an opinion of Chris Kreider, who skated with the Rangers for the second time Thursday morning after leaving Boston College on Tuesday to sign his NHL contract.
“This kid has great skills, I could see that at his first practice [on Wednesday],” the goaltender said after the morning skate at the Garden that preceded Game 1 of the opening round against the Senators. “We were having a rebound drill at my end and he put one by me like it was nothing.
“So I said to myself: ‘Great skater, great hands, quick release, pretty accurate.’ Put it in the book.”
Kreider, who joined John Scott and Jeff Woywitka as healthy scratches in Thursday night’s 4-2 Rangers win, said he would focus specifically on watching rookie Carl Hagelin throughout the match.
“I’ll watch Hags, how he handles the puck and puck pursuit,” said the 20-year-old, who was attending classes at BC as late as Tuesday. “The coaches have emphasized puck pursuit with me, not so much speed with the puck but speed without the puck.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound winger, who said he’s “feeding off the energy of practicing with NHL players,” was asked about his shot-blocking proficiency.
“That was a huge emphasis for us [in college],” he said of the NCAA champion Eagles. “I wasn’t the best on the team at BC, but I was willing.”
The Rangers were fourth in the NHL in blocked shots, behind the Islanders, Wild and Canadiens, none of whom qualified for the playoffs.
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Former Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy was in the lineup for the Senators, who acquired the Long Island native from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. Gilroy, who played two years in New York before leaving over the summer as a free agent, played in all five games of last year’s opening round defeat to the Capitals.
“It was too short but great experience for me,” Gilroy said. “The thing I remember most was how loud it was at the Garden with the ‘Can You Hear Us?’ chant.”
That was the chant directed at Bruce Boudreau behind the Washington bench throughout Game 4 after the Caps coach had said he didn’t think the Garden was an especially loud building.
The Rangers built a 3-0 lead through two periods in that game before losing 4-3 in double OT.
“Yeah, the end wasn’t too good,” Gilroy said. “But it’s the loudest I’ve ever heard the Garden.”