LOS ANGELES – It must be strange for Chris Kreider to return to the arena in downtown Los Angeles with Jonathan Quick in net instead of on the other side of the rink.
It was on the ice at Crypto.com Arena (better known to Rangers fans as Staples Center) that it was one of the most gut-wrenching moments of Kreider's 12-year NHL career. The Blueshirts lost to Quick and the Kings in Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Tournament. Cup final.
It's been 10 years since Quick made his long-awaited return to LA on Saturday in a Rangers jersey, but Kreider still remembers the time he played against No. 32. hurt.
“It's a little bit traumatic every day to shoot at him in practice,” the left winger told the Post before the Rangers played the Kings on Saturday night.
Kreider, who was 23 years old and new to the league in 2014, actually skated with Quick in the summer in Connecticut.
Kreider said he wasn't quick enough to score back then, noting that at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he never had many shots on net.
They had talked in passing, but understandably haven't gotten to know each other as much since Quick signed a one-year, $925,000 contract with the Rangers this offseason.
All Kreider knew was that even if Quick wasn't already the best American-born goaltender at the time, he was well on his way to becoming one.
Looking back on that series, Kreider described Quick as the heartbeat of the 2014 Kings team.
He made big timely saves and the players fought hard in front of him.
Kreider recalls that there was a certain aura around Quick.
While there are countless key moments that Quick was involved in, Kreider had his own.
Trailing 1-0 in the second period of Game 5 in 2014, the Rangers swarmed the net in an attempt to tie the score.
Still, Quick, who shut out the Rangers in Game 3, stood tall.
That was until Kreider put the post in front of him on the power play and tapped in a centering feed from Ryan McDonough to tie the game at one-all.
Of course, we all know how that story ends, but Kreider always goes for it with a quickie.
“I half expected him to put on pads,” Kreider said. “Every time we were up 2-on-1, I thought the net was open and then all of a sudden it felt like his feet were coming towards me. He's doing a full split. Every time we beat him, the post I felt like I found it, but I think it's just a sign that the goalie is taking an angle, is actually taking an angle.
“He was always like that too. Even if you beat him, it's not going to be an in. It's not a post-and-in, it's a post-and-out. He was really at the top of his game. The way he played, too. I hope you understand. He has a very unique style and is very athletic.
“There are a lot of goalies who are very strong point-to-point positionally, but the way he moves definitely makes the position look fun.”
