Kreider return silver lining in Ranger loss
AT A time when gloom and uncertainty has permeated throughout the Rangers’ locker room as players have begun being shipped out with more action coming before Monday’s deadline, they had reason Friday night to be more upbeat with the return of Chris Kreider to the lineup against the Wild.
Of course, the song remained the same for the Rangers as they lost 4-1 to Minnesota, and they’ve now lost six straight and 16 of their last 21 games, the silver lining being a chance to improve their odds in the draft lottery.
But though the team’s circumstances aren’t lost on Kreider, he couldn’t help but smile. He played for the first time since Dec. 27, when he left after the first period and was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right arm. He underwent a rib resection on Jan. 7 and ended up missing 24 games over roughly eight weeks.
“I felt like it was my first NHL game again,” Kreider, who returned to practice on Feb. 14, said after logging 15:59 of ice time. “I was kind of nervous all day. It was definitely an emotional game for me, thinking about where I was six weeks ago and the position I was in, kind of reflecting on all of the support that I had. It’s hard because obviously the team is going through a rough time, but I couldn’t stop smiling. I’m just happy to be playing hockey again.”
Kreider started and received a loud ovation from the crowd and displayed his trademark speed.
“I’m really lucky to be playing hockey at all, let alone in the NHL,” Kreider said. “It’s hard not to appreciate every single game at this point, especially this first one. The right word is perspective, so I was happy to be out there and happy to be with my teammates. I’m just trying to appreciate every moment.”
Which teammates he’ll still have after Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline remains to be seen. Kreider returned less than 24 hours after another fast winger, Michael Grabner, was sent across the Hudson to the Devils for a second-round pick and defensive prospect Yegor Rykov.
Rick Nash, who skated Friday morning, was a precautionary healthy scratch Friday for the second straight night as the pending unrestricted free agent is set to be dealt within the next couple of days. Ryan McDonagh, who also skated Friday morning but missed his eighth straight game with an upper-body injury, is a candidate to be dealt as well.
There are a lot of moving parts as the Rangers try to weather the storm on the ice while waiting to see who will be left when they head to Vancouver on Monday.
“I would say the biggest difference is normally there’s one agenda, and that’s the team’s agenda. Right now because of our situation and because of how things unfolded, there’s a few agendas out there, which is the circumstances we decided to put ourselves into,” Vigneault said. “So hopefully after Monday we’ll have a group of players here, one agenda and work real hard.”