Chris Kreider Finds His Groove Again Against Canucks

New York Rangers veteran Chris Kreider delivered the Rangers gut punch to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday Night.

At Vancouver in Rogers Arena, the Rangers and the Canucks were all tied up in the third period at 3-3. But, Chris Kreider received Reilly Smith's dish and fired it into the back of the net, giving the Rangers for his ninth goal of the season.

The goal was the final one scored of the night, with 9:17 remaining in the matchup.

Other key offensive players for the Blueshirts that night included Mika Zibanejad, Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko. Each had a goal and an assist while Adam Fox also added two assists for New York, with the Rangers improving to 7-1-0 on the road and 12-4-1 overall.

Going back to Kreider, his goal game after a brilliant set of passes from linemates Zibanejad and Reilly Smith. En route to getting the puck in the back of the net, Kreider beat Vancouver's Arturs Silovs short side from left wing after a tic-tac-toe passing sequence from the previously mentioned linemates.

For season stats, the 2009 first overall draft pick has played in all 17 games so far this campaign while earning nine points.

Generating offense is certainly not a problem for Kreider. He has everything a modern NHL power forward needs: top-end speed, game-breaking ability and a physical approach to the game.

Kreider scored twice in the season opener at Pittsburgh and twice at Toronto on Oct. 19. While in Washington in a 5-3 loss, he put the puck in the back of the net just 30 seconds into the second period. Out of the three times the Rangers have played against Detroit this year, he logged two goals against that particular opponent. His goal in the first period at Detroit on Nov. 9 was his most recent goal prior to scoring on Tuesday

While the rest of the season has yet to pan out, Kreider's future in the NHL is pretty much set.

Currently at 33-years-old, he signed seven-year contract with NY Rangers, February 24, 2020. Following his signing, he scored an NHL career-high 52 goals in 2021-22 to become the fourth 50-goal scorer in Rangers history. Adding to this is the fact that 11 months ago he surpassed Adam Graves for the third most goals in New York Rangers history (281) and becomes fifth Ranger to tally 100 career PP goals.

This contract likely means the obvious; whenever he retires, he will have spent his entire league career as a Ranger.

Obviously this is a long ways away; and Kreider return his focus to taking on the Calgary Flames (10-6-3) on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Puck drop is slated for 9:00 p.m. EST, sharp.