As Chris Kreider reaches another Rangers milestone, teammates applaud his latest accomplishment
Chris Kreider is not the type to hold court and wax poetic about his work around the net, not even on what surely had to be one of the finest nights of what’s been a terrific career.
So, predictably, he was brief in his remarks after scoring twice in a 5-1 victory Friday night over Anaheim in which he moved into third place on the Rangers’ all-time goals list.
The most revealing thing he said came when someone mentioned how he had passed Adam Graves on that leaderboard.
“I love Adam Graves,” Kreider said.
Everything else was boilerplate. Kreider was more interested in talking about fine games by the defense and goalie Jonathan Quick than the fact that he had notched career goals No. 280 and 281 to pass Graves. He also became just the fifth Ranger with 100 career power-play goals and only the 12th with 500 career points.
“That’s hard to talk about, I guess, right now, post-game,” Kreider said. “I’m happy with the result and we’re trying to get a win in Boston (on Saturday).”
But even if Kreider didn’t want to expound, his teammates were happy to do it for him.
“It’s cool, especially for an organization like the Rangers, an Original Six team, all the legends, all the names, big names, who have played here and he’s getting up there and those records,” said Mika Zibanejad, who also had a goal and assisted on Kreider’s first tally. “You know, just the fact that he’s been here his whole career and has been able to do what he’s done is impressive.
“You’re not going to get much out of him, but I’m super proud.”
Added Adam Fox: “It’s pretty impressive to see his career arc in terms of, he’s always been a steady goal scorer and then he kind of took off and now he just finds the back of the net with ease.”
Kreider’s first goal tied the score at 1 in the first period and his second, the one on the power play, gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the second period. The second goal was a Kreider specialty, with him standing along the side of the net and angling his stick to redirect a pass from Artemi Panarin past Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal.
Ranger folks seemed to get a kick out of the idea that one of Kreider’s milestone goals came on that technique.
“That’s a high-skill play,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think he’s one of the best at that. I thought this before my time (here), but I think he’s one of the best down around that area, in front of the net, just off to the side of the net. The hand-eye coordination is through the roof and he sees the next play, makes the next play, he’s a big body. It’s everything you want for it.”
Added: Zibanejad: “I would say the angle is the most difficult one to try to get by. And it’s not like he’s done it once or twice where it’s kind of just bouncing in. Like everything else he does, he works on it every day. So there’s no luck involved.”
Only Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336) have more career goals than Kreider among Rangers. Kreider’s big night also meant he tied Panarin for the team lead so far this season with 16. The two are tied for eighth in the NHL in goals right now.
Kreider, 32, is in his 12th NHL season and his two best goal-scoring years are the last two – he tallied 52 times in 2021-22 and 36 times last season. He’s on pace for 46 or so goals this year. If he keeps this up, we may be talking about passing Ratelle and then Gilbert in a few years. The Garden rafters will be calling, too.
Maybe Kreider will deliver a speech for the ages then when they put up No. 20 among other Ranger greats. But that’s down the road a bit.
For now, Kreider should know the respect he’s got in the Ranger room. What he did Friday night is “a tremendous accomplishment,” Laviolette said.
“Especially in one city, to be able to stay here and do that. It’s New York, too. He’s been amazing since he got here, the way he’s able to score and produce like he has for one club for so long."
