New York Rangers: How Chris Kreider is the key to success

The New York Rangers 2017-18 season went south when Chris Kreider was diagnosed with a blood clot.  This season there’s more evidence that he is the key ingredient when it comes to winning.

As long as Chris Kreider has been a member of the New York Rangers, the forward has always gone through spurts. Like any goal scorer, he can run hot or cold and sometimes disappear for weeks at a time. However, one key point stands out, when Kreider plays well, the Rangers typically have a good result.

Kreider is off to a good start this season.  The Boston College product leads the team with six goals through 12 games.  He is tied for the team lead with two power play goals.  His nine points rank second on the team.  But more than that, there is one undeniable fact when it comes to Kreider.  When he is on the scoresheet, the Rangers have a good chance of winning.

This became apparent last season. Hampered by injuries, Kreider played in 58 games.  He scored a goal or notched an assist in 27 of those games.  The Rangers’ record when he did that?  A pretty outstanding 17-7-3.  Even more remarkable is the result when he scored a goal.  When Kreider lit the goal lamp, the Rangers’ record was 11-2-1.

What about this season?

Twelve games is a pretty small sample size, but it looks like the “Kreider factor” is still in effect.  The Rangers are 4-1-1 when he has gotten at least one point in a game.  When he has scored a goal, the team is 2-1-1.   He’s been held scoreless in six of the games the team has played.  The record in those games?  It’s 0-6-0.   In games, without a Kreider goal, the team is 2-6-0.

Look at the scoring percentages since 2016-17, it’s clear that Kreider is becoming more important to the Rangers success.

Winning percentage with at least one point:
2016-17   .622
2017-18    .685
2018-19    .750
Winning percentage when scoreless:
2016-17    .586
2017-18    .417
2018-19    .000
Winning percentage with at least a goal:
2016-17    .667
2017-18    .821
2018-19    .625
Winning percentage when goal-less:
2016-17   .612
2017-18   .467
2018-19   .500

Compare this to Mika Zibanejad who is second on the team with five goals.  The Rangers have won only one of the four games in which he has scored a goal and they’ve won only two out of the six games in which he has gotten a point.

So, now that we’ve figured out that the key to Ranger success is Chris Kreider, it’s up to David Quinn to figure out how to play him for 60 minutes a game.

This level of success in correlation with Kreider is not indicative of causation, but it is worth considering. When it comes to above average players, the former first-round pick is one of the better ones the Rangers have drafted in recent years.

In the not so distant future, the Rangers’ front office is going to have to decide on whether or not Kreider is going to be a piece for the eventual contending team in two or three years.