Bad Blow, Kreider Out Indefinitely
Chris Kreider is down and out (USATSI)
Chris Kreider’s is out indefinitely and the Rangers’ season just took a blow. How long he will be out for is unknown, but the playoffs are in doubt. Today Alain Vigneault made this statement to Blueshirts United:
“He got operated on today and he is out indefinitely, it’s all I can tell you. We waited for the doctors to tell us the best course of action, and they came to the conclusion yesterday and he got operated on today.”
What does the loss of Kreider mean for New York? Well it forces them to overload the 1st line as Marty St. Louis is moved up. While, it may cause certain teams fits, against a solid defensive squad like the Bruins, it could be easily shutdown. So how do you replace Kreider’s 17 goals? Easy, you don’t. At least not with one player this late in the season.
The pressure is now squarely on the shoulders of Mats Zuccarello who has no goals since January 26th! That is 16 games without a tally. He’s not the only one who needs to step up, Brad Richards needs to start earning that big paycheck too. The 6 million dollar man has only 2 goals and 3 assists in 14 March games going into action against Calgary. How about teacher’s pet, Benoit Pouliot? He has only 1 goal in his last 15 and is invisible on way too many nights.
All hope is not lost for the Rangers going into the post season. Bottom line, their stars are getting it done lately. None more so than Henrik Lundqvist, who beyond the shadow of doubt is the Rangers MVP. Or Norris Trophy buzz candidate Ryan McDonagh, who is on fire with 6 goals and 7 assists in March.
The Blueshirts will be fine without Kreider and even though his loss will hurt, it’s not paralyzing. So long as Nash keeps scoring and St. Louis starts burying his chances.
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