Chris Kreider had a hat trick Thursday night to lead the Rangers to a 7-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden, extending the Blueshirts’ winning streak to six consecutive games.
It was the sixth career hat trick for Kreider, who now has 27 goals on the season, and first since he did it against Arizona on Jan. 22, 2022. After Kreider batted in a lovely pass from Mika Zibanejad with 12:01 left in the third period for this third goal, multiple fans tossed hats on the ice, acknowledging Kreider’s feat.
The Rangers (35-16-3) started off sluggishly, but exploded for four goals in the second period, flying around the ice in the back half of the period, to take control of the game.
Here are the takeaways…
– Montreal took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Jake Evans and were mostly carrying the play until about 9:15 left in the second. That’s when Kreider came in alone on the right side of Canadiens’ goalie Sam Montembeault for an excellent chance. Montembault stopped Kreider’s shot, but it seemed to be a jolt of adrenaline for the Rangers and Kreider scored about 20 seconds later. He blasted a one-timer off a pass by Zibanejad past Montembault for his 25th goal of the season. Kreider now has five seasons of 25 or more goals, tied for the fourth-most in Rangers’ history.
– Kreider’s first goal started a flurry in which they tallied four times in 4:10. Will Cullye gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 7:33 left in the second with a nifty tip-in with a defender draped over him. Adam Fox got one of the assists, giving him 40 points for the season. Fox is the fourth U.S.-born defenseman to have at least 40 points in each of his first five seasons, joining Phil Housely, Mark Howe and Gary Suter. Fox was credited with assists on three other Rangers goals, too, making him the first Blueshirt defenseman with at least four assists in one game since he had five against the Flyers on March 25, 2021.
– With 5:17 left in the second, Zibanejad smashed a one-timer past Montembault during a delayed penalty in which Ranger goalie Jonathan Quick had skated off the ice. It was technically a shorthanded goal since the Rangers had a skater in the penalty box, making it the 11th shortie of Zibanejad’s Ranger career. That matches Walt Tkaczuk for the fifth-most in team history. The Canadiens challenged the goal, citing goaltender interference by Kreider, who was down by the crease. But the play was reviewed and the goal stood, giving Zibanejad 17 goals this season. Over his previous 18 games, Zibanejad had only scored two goals.
– Thirty-six seconds later, Kreider tipped in an Artemi Panarin shot for his second goal of the night and 26th of the season, expanding the lead to 4-1. It was a power-play goal and it snapped the Rangers’ 0-for-18 skid with a man advantage.
– While the Rangers were soaring for much of the latter half of the second, the Canadiens scored with 3:30 left, preventing the game from getting completely out of hand. Juraj Slafkovsky tallied his 12th goal of the season.
– With 15:37 left in the third period, Vincent Trocheck scored his 16th goal of the season. After Montreal scored when the puck rebounded off the boards behind the net and bounced in off Quick, Kreider tallied for a third time for a 6-3 Rangers’ lead. The teams continued to score, too. Kaapo Kakko scored his sixth goal of the season for a 7-3 Blueshirts’ lead with 10:04 left and then Montreal’s Cole Caulfield scored his second of the game to keep the Canadiens within three goals.
– With 9:00 left in the first period, Rangers forward Blake Wheeler suffered an injury to his right leg when he fell after taking a hit from Jayden Struble behind the Montreal net. Wheeler was in obvious pain and couldn’t get himself up. He was ultimately helped up to one skate and taken to the dressing room. The Rangers later announced that Wheeler had a “lower-body injury” and would not return.
Highlights
What’s next
The Rangers take on the Islanders on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. outside at MetLife Stadium as part of this season’s Stadium Series.
