Chris Kreider had a night with several milestones and the ranger returned to winning ways on Friday with a 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks in front of a sellout crowd of 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.
Kreider scored two goals, the 280th and 281st of his 12-year career, to move past Adam Graves on the Rangers’ all-time list. Kreider is now just one shy of third place in franchise history Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336). Graves is in fourth place with 280.
The Rangers, who had lost three of their last four games, improved to 20-7-1. It is only the second time in team history that they have recorded 20 wins in 28 games or fewer to start a season. The first time was the 1993/94 season.
The Ducks, who came into the game second to last in points in the NHL (20), fell to 10-19 and suffered their fifth straight loss.
Takeaways
-Kreider, who had gone five straight games without a goal, scored his 15th goal of the season with 2:54 left in the first period, raising the score to 1. This goal was also Kreider’s 500th career point, making him the 12th player in the Rangers’ history of reaching this mark. At 16:19 of the second period, he positioned himself to the left side of the Anaheim goalie Luke Dostal and forwarded a clever pass from Artemi Panarin scored his 16th goal of the season into the net. This score was also the 100th power play goal of Kreider’s career and increased the Rangers’ lead to 3-1.
–Jonathan Quick He started in goal for the Rangers and improved his record to 9-0-1 this season with 29 saves. Allegedly, Igor Shesterkin, who has had some issues recently, will play for the second straight game when the Rangers play at Boston on Saturday. Shesterkin has a 3.02 goals-against average and a 10-7 record, which is a below-average number for him.
-Anaheim took a 1-0 lead after the Rangers converted two penalties in the eighth shootout. Brett Leason With 6:30 minutes left in the first period, he fired a wrist shot past Quick for his fourth goal of the season.
–Jimmy VeseyPlaying with a full face shield because he was hit in the face by a puck during Thursday’s practice, he tied the game at 1-1 with a second-period goal set up by a nice pass Adam Fox. Vesey was wide open on Dostal’s right side and beat the goalkeeper’s stick side. It was Vesey’s seventh goal of the season. Blake Wheeler was also credited with an assist for the game.
–Mika Zibanejad With 4:34 left in the third period, he scored a fourth goal, a one-timer on the power play, giving the Rangers a three-goal lead. It was Zibanejad’s ninth goal of the season. Adam Edstromwho was called up on Friday, added a late goal just before time expired.
-The Rangers have scored at least one power play goal in 21 of their first 28 games. On Friday night, the Rangers ranked second in the NHL on the power play with a success rate of 30.5 percent.
-Defender K’Andre Miller was sidelined on Friday evening, missing his second straight game due to a personal issue. Miller did not practice on Wednesday but practiced on Thursday and told reporters afterward that he was feeling better. The 23-year-old Miller ranks second only among Rangers skaters in average ice time (22:11). Jacob Trouba (22:33), his usual defense partner. Trouba started the game paired with Erik Gustafsson.
What’s next
The Rangers (20-7-1) travel to Boston to play the Atlantic-ranked Bruins (18-5-4) on Saturday at 7 p.m
