Chris Kreider told his teammates within earshot that he was going to score a goal before the third period of Game 6 of their second-round series against the Hurricanes on Thursday. If he held out, it would force a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.
Not only did Kreider fulfill his promise, the 33-year-old Ranger’s longest-tenured forward scored two more goals than originally expected and single-handedly led the Blueshirts to victory. This was the first natural hat trick in history. His playoff career ended with a 5-3 victory over Carolina, leading the team to their second conference finals appearance in the past three years.
“It doesn’t look like he’s stressed,” said Mika Zibanejad, Kreider’s longtime linemate and close friend. “Sometimes he feels like he doesn’t have anything, but you don’t need that much to start something. It is excellent in that it becomes
“I’m very happy for him to have a performance like this in a game like this, but I’m also very grateful that it came at the right time.”
Kreider’s ascent into the Rangers’ record books continues this season.
After a series-clinching performance that included seven shots on goal, one block, and two hits, Kreider became the third player in franchise history to score three goals during the playoffs.
He currently ranks behind the greats Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky as the only Rangers players to accomplish that.
“That was just a monster third period,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “I mean, he put it on his back. He really delivered. It was better than him, but at the end of the day, we need to score goals and that’s his job. That’s what he did tonight. It was a pretty incredible performance from him, especially for a guy who wasn’t on the ice. [Wednesday]. To come back and play a game like that, make a throw like that in the third period, it’s pretty special.”
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Kreider finished the second round with four goals and two assists and had seven goals and three assists in the playoffs.
But the significance of his performance, especially in Game 6, is what cements the legacy.
With the Rangers on the verge of returning to the Garden for an uncertain Game 7, Kreider took matters into his own hands.
Kreider’s performance was even more impressive considering he had to miss Wednesday’s Rangers practice for “maintenance.”
“He supported the team,” Barclay Goodrow said. “He’s been doing that the entire time I’ve been here. Whenever we needed something at a big moment, he said he’d do it for us. Oh. It’s great to be able to play with the players.”
