Chris Kreider was the star of the show as the New York Rangers rose to the occasion to beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday.
Obviously oblivious to all the trade talk swirling around him, Kreider had another big night to power the New York Rangers to an impressive statement win.
Igor Shesterkin also continued to show why he is the future of this storied franchise with a 42-save performance, despite leaving the game at one point thanks to a ridiculous decision (more on that later).
It was just a mighty fine performance from the Rangers in a plethora of aspects against a Jets team that may not have a stellar defense, but they do boast an elite goaltender and a bevy of potent weapons.
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Kreider started the fireworks just 34.1 seconds into the game with arguably his best goal of the regular season so far.
Taking a pass off the boards, Kreider used his blistering speed to charge up the ice while using his upper-body strength to hold off Sami Niku, before beating Connor Hellebuyck with a wonderful backhand.
Kreider was at it again in the second period, sweeping home the puck on the rebound after Hellebuyck had denied Ryan Strome on the power play.
It was then Strome’s turn to light the lamp as the forward latched onto a Jesper Fast rebound before firing a turnaround shot past Hellebuyck.
And a dominant night from the Rangers was complete when Mika Zibanejad became the third Blueshirt to record a two-point night, hammering home a one-timer from a Pavel Buchnevich feed from behind the net.
A perfect night looked to be capped off by a first-ever NHL shutout for Shesterkin, although that was ruined by Nikolaj Ehlers, who saw his wrister go past Shesterkin with some help.
Despite that, this was a huge win for the New York Rangers and we had some takeaways from the contest in Winnipeg…