The New York Rangers cannot seem to find a way to score on home ice, despite playing some of the best hockey in the league. Around the league, there is a former fan-favorite that is lighting up the scoreboard and really is being missed by the Madison Square Garden faithful right now.
Chris Kreider, now a part of the Anaheim Ducks after being traded by the Rangers over the summer, has scored four goals and added an assist in the team's three games this season.
Did the Rangers make a mistake letting him go?
Really could have used No. 20 right now
The Rangers have a solid leadership group, so Kreider would only add to that category. But, when things are down and there is a need for a player to just throw caution to the wind and do everything in their power to score goals, No. 20 was fantastic at that in his tenure with the Rangers.
Especially on home ice, as he was loved by the Blueshirts faithful. He was supposed to be one of those players who spent their entire careers in New York, and it seems like a fever dream to see him in another uniform.
Now, the Rangers are looking for goals from just about anywhere. They broke a 95-year-old record as the first team since 1930-31 to be shutout in their first three home games of the season.
Zibanejad is playing solid hockey right now
Kreider and Mika Zibanejad were thick as thieves over the last couple of seasons. As a part of the first-line unit, as well as the power play and penalty kill units, there was very little time that they were not on the ice together.
Last season saw the worst of both those players. Both Zibanejad and Kreider were abysmal in 2024-25, as was the rest of this franchise. It was a matter of time before one of them was removed, and it ended up being Kreider.
But, things look alot different in 2025-26, as Zibanejad is playing really smart and aggressive hockey in the beginning stages of the year. He only has one goal on the season, but is amongst the league leaders in shots on goal with 22.
With how well Kreider has been in some new scenery, and Zibanejad turning things around early, who knows how much different the narrative would have been this season? There is no way to tell if the Rangers made the right or wrong decision to move on from Kreider, but there is no denying that he can still score goals with the best of them.