Chris Kreider had a multiple milestone night and the Rangers got back to their winning ways by beating the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, 5-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.
Kreider scored twice, the 280th and 281st goals of his 12-year career, to move past Adam Graves on the Rangers’ all-time leaderboard. Kreider is now third in franchise history in goals, behind only Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336). Graves sits fourth at 280.
The Rangers, who had lost three of their previous 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 entered the game second-to-last in points in the NHL (20), fell to 10-19 and lost their fifth straight.
Takeaways
-Kreider, who had gone five consecutive games without a goal, scored his 15th goal of the season with 2:54 left in the first period, knotting the score at 1. That goal was also Kreider’s 500th career point, making him the 12th player in Rangers history to reach that mark. At the 16:19 mark of the second period, he positioned himself on the left side of Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal and redirected a nifty pass from Artemi Panarin into the net for his 16th goal of the season. That tally was also the 100th power-play goal of Kreider’s career and it upped the Rangers’ lead to 3-1.
-Jonathan Quick started in goal for the Rangers and improved to 9-0-1 on the season by making 29 saves. Presumably, Igor Shesterkin, who has experienced some struggles recently, will get the second game of the back-to-back when the Rangers play Saturday in Boston. Shesterkin has a 3.02 goals-against average and a 10-7 record, substandard numbers for him.
-Anaheim took a 1-0 lead right after the Rangers’ eighth-ranked penalty kill had squashed two penalties. Brett Leason slipped a wrist shot past Quick with 6:30 left in the first period for his fourth goal of the season.
-Jimmy Vesey, who played wearing a full face shield because he got hit in the face with a puck during practice on Thursday, broke a 1-1 tie with a second-period goal that was set up via a nice pass by Adam Fox. Vesey was wide open on Dostal’s right and beat the goalie stick side. It was Vesey’s seventh goal of the season. Blake Wheeler was also credited with an assist on the play.
-Mika Zibanejad added a fourth goal with 4:34 left in the third period, a one-timer on the power play, giving the Rangers a three-goal lead. It was Zibanejad’s ninth goal of the season. Adam Edstrom, called up Friday, added a late goal with time running out.
-The Rangers have scored at least one power-play goal in 21 of their first 28 games. Entering Friday night, the Rangers’ power play was ranked second in the NHL with a 30.5 percent success rate.
-Defenseman K’Andre Miller was out Friday night, missing his second consecutive game because of a personal issue. Miller did not practice on Wednesday but did practice on Thursday and told reporters afterward that he was doing better. Miller, 23, ranks second among Rangers skaters in average ice time (22:11), behind only Jacob Trouba (22:33), his usual partner on defense. Trouba started the game paired with Erik Gustafsson.
What’s Next
The Rangers (20-7-1) head to Boston to play the Atlantic-leading Bruins (18-5-4) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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