Eye of the Kreider
Chris Kreider has looked dominant this season so far and his start could be the sign of great things to come.
The Rangers have gotten off to a blistering start offensively this season and they could easily be 3-0 at this point if Carter Hutton hadn’t stolen a win from them in St. Louis. Mika Zibanejad has asserted himself has one of this teams best players. Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich have looked fantastic when they’ve stepped on the ice, but the biggest story of the first three games of the season has been the amazing play of Chris Kreider.
He has looked absolutely dominant in the Rangers first three games of the season. He’s shooting more, using his big frame to his advantage and making fantastic plays to help his team win. The Chris Kreider we are witnessing this season is the one Rangers fans have hoped to see for years now. The one who has 30 goal potential and the potential to be one of the most dynamic power forwards in the league.
The best part is that his play hasn’t just been good; it’s been historic.
Chris Kreider has registered 17 shots on goal through seven periods thus far in 2016-17. #NYRStats
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) October 17, 2016
When you shoot, good things happen. Plain and simple. At the time of the tweet Kreider had 17 shots in seven periods but ended the game with 18. To put that into perspective: Kreider put only 19 shots on net his rookie season and that was in 23 games. If he continues this pace of six shots a game he would end the season with almost 500 shots on goal and that would be challenging a player like Alexander Ovechkin for the league lead in shots. He may not hit that many shots but at this point it seems like he will shatter his previous record of 180 shots on goal which he got during the 2014-15 NHL season.
Good Company
Kreider is also the first NYR forward who has recorded 6 points in the first 3 games of a season since Nicholls & Turcotte in 1990-91.
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) October 18, 2016
Now that is definitely some good company to have. Brian Leetch was one of the best players in franchise history and arguably the top American born defensemen of all time. Bernie Nicholls and Darren Turcotte were solid Blueshirts when they were here. At this current pace Kreider would have 162 points by season’s end…. Yeah that won’t happen but could we finally see the 30-30 season fans have been expecting of him? Yeah, I think so.
A Great Start
Chris Kreider has established a career-high with his three-game goal streak to start the 2016-17 season.
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) October 18, 2016
This harkens right back to him possibly hitting the 30-30 mark this season. The more he scores, the more confident he is going to feel and with the way Kreider is playing right now he looks like a bulldozer rumbling down a street. No one can see to slow him down.
The Rangers have gotten off to an amazing start and Chris Kreider has been a huge part of it. Kreider and Zibanejad look like a match made in heaven and this is finally the year where we see Kreider take the reigns and show the league why he was a top 20 pick back in 2009. He’s focused, he’s amped and looks better than ever.
Alain Vigneault said it best
Vigneault on @ChrisKreider: "He’s putting it all together right now." #NYR
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 18, 2016
Yes he has Alain and we are all thrilled.
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