Chris Kreider wakes up and finds a bunch of caps in his house to commemorate his third-period hat trick in Game 6 at Carolina the night before, clinching the second round of the series. It was 220 days ago that I realized it had been left on my front lawn.
With the Presidents Trophy champions advancing to the conference finals for the second time in three years, Kreider, a blueshirt since the 2012 playoffs, will finally have his number on display in the Garden's windmill ceiling. I was wearing 20.
Now, just over seven months later, Kreider is the latest victim of the Rangers' free fall to 4-13 after a no-show and a 5-0 loss to the Devils at the Rock. Coach Peter Laviolette.
Please wait a moment. What am I saying? Kreider suffered his first healthy injury since manager John Tortorella's reign behind the bench ended at the end of the 2012-13 season, but he was not the victim. In fact, he was a co-conspirator in his and his team's downfall in the bombing last month.
