Chris Kreider had multiple milestones in the New York Rangers 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
NEW YORK, NY -- The Rangers got into some penalty trouble in the first period, but Chris Kreider's two milestone goals helped the team earn a victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
LINEUP:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Wheeler
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Edstrom-Brodzinski-Cuylle
Vesey-Goodrow-Pitlick
Lindgren-Fox
Gustafsson-Trouba
Jones-Schneider
Quick
1ST PERIOD:
Something interesting off the bat in this game was Nick Bonino being a last minute scratch. Bonino took warmups and did the rushes with his usual linemates, Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski.
After warmup he must have decided he didn't feel good enough to go, allowing Adam Edstrom to play in his first NHL game.
Penalties killed any momentum that the Rangers had early. They took two penalties 1:51 apart, leading to Anaheim scoring the games opening goal.
Brock McGinn threw a massive hit on Ryan Lindgren and as he was recovering from the hit, he couldn't gap up on Brett Leason quick enough.
Leason used Lindgren as a screen and beat Jonathan Quick cleanly for the games opening goal.
Late in the first period, the Rangers found their first goal, which was one of significance.
The team's were tied at 1-1 after the opening period.
2ND PERIOD:
The middle frame had some strong back-and-forth action.
Whenever the team has needed a big goal this season, Jimmy Vesey finds a way to come up clutch.
Fox's offensive awareness on this play was outstanding, as well as Vesey's catch-and-release. He didn't waste any time with a stick-handle.
The Rangers power play had struggled to this point of the evening, until "Mr. Power Play Goal" himself converted in what would be another milestone for him.
This was also Kreider's 100th career power play goal.
Considering that Fox grew up a Rangers fan, he has seen plenty of Kreider goals throughout his life. After the game, I caught up with the Rangers defensemen and asked about how special it was for him to be a part of Kreider's big night. Fox told me “It was pretty cool, I thought the first one we had to get the puck. He’s scored a lot of big goals so it’s kind of fitting that it was that tip one too, kind of his signature.”
Kreider has scored in so many different ways throughout his time in New York. He's also tallied some of the most memorable goals for this generation of Rangers fans. When asking Fox about his favorite all-time Kreider goal, he said “He tied one late against Washington or something. Might have been 1-0, he was just on the knees. Funny to see a young Chris Kreider. He’s scored a lot of big goals, something I was lucky enough to be here for.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkziZrCW3ms[/embed]
The Rangers led the Ducks 3-1 after the second period.
3RD PERIOD:
Quick continues to impress night in and night out for the Rangers. He is now 9-0-1 on the season, making it harder and harder to deny that he might be the go-to guy right now.
Mika Zibanejad added a power play goal for good measure.
To put the cherry on top, Edstrom would score his first NHL with just three seconds remaining in his debut.
I spoke with Edstrom and Peter Laviolette after the game about the rookie's special night.
Below is our conversation: