The Rangers have yet to open talks with Boston College sophomore winger Chris Kreider about leaving school to turn pro, sources have told The Post.
Beyond that, an individual close to Kreider told The Post yesterday that the club’s 2009 first-round Entry Draft selection is currently planning to return to BC for his junior season.
The Blueshirts, who did attempt to entice Kreider to turn pro last summer, are expected to make another effort once the school year ends. Management believes that the 19th overall selection in 2009 would need to serve an apprenticeship in the AHL, but a strong training camp could certainly cause a shift in that perspective.
A fleet, skilled 6-foot-2, 205-pound winger who turns 20 on April 30, Kreider recorded 24 points (11-13) in 32 games for the Eagles, who were eliminated from the NCAA tournament as defending champions in the semifinal of the Western Regional by Colorado College.
Kreider, who suffered a broken jaw when hit by a puck in a March 4 regular-season game against UNH, returned for the March 25 match against Colorado College despite having undergone surgery after suffering the injury. The winger had an assist in the 8-4 defeat.
As a freshman, Kreider recorded 23 points (15-8) in 38 games in helping BC win the national championship. Kreider has played for Team USA in the last two World Junior Championships, winning the Gold in 2010 with current Ranger Derek Stepan and fellow draft selection Ryan Bourque.
The sophomore, who was the MVP of this year’s Beanpot Tournament, may be in line for an invitation to represent the U.S. in the World Championship Tournament that will be played in Slovakia beginning late this month. He played for Team USA in last year’s tournament, notching a goal and an assist in six games.
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Marian Gaborik sat for a full eight minutes through the guts of the third, from 5:13 to 13:13, following a shift on which No. 10 twice lost the puck.
But on his second shift after he was reinstated, Gaborik made a gorgeous pass to Michael Sauer for the winner at 17:03, battling in traffic, then skating the puck to the top before delivering the puck to the defenseman, who crept down low on the right side before sliding the puck past Tim Thomas on the short side.
Coach John Tortorella, who had begun to mix and match his units early in the second, juggled again in the third, giving Sean Avery, who played only 5:01 through the first 50 minutes, important shifts down the stretch in place of Gaborik on a line with Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky.
Wojtek Wolski, a scratch last Thursday on the Island and a spare part (until the shootout) in Philadelphia on Sunday, got 17:20 and recorded assists on each of Vinny Prospal‘s critical second-period goals after being promoted to the unit with Prospal and Derek Stepan.
Henrik Lundqvist regarding the atmosphere at the Garden as the Rangers mounted and then completed their comeback:
“It felt like regular-season excitement [becoming] playoff excitement. You could almost touch it.”
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Chris Drury, who has been sidelined since Feb. 3 with a knee issue for which he underwent an arthroscopy, has skated the last three days after going onto the ice Saturday for the first time since his surgery.
The captain, who was in sweats over the weekend before going in full gear with a handful of teammates at yesterday’s optional morning skate, told The Post two weeks ago that he hoped to be able to return to the lineup at some point during the playoffs.
Tortorella, when asked prior to last night’s match for an update on Drury’s status, said: “No idea. I’ve got much more things to worry about than injured guys right now.”