Rangers hoping road trip is just beginning of Chris Kreider turnaround-quang

There was something vintage about this, about the way Chris Kreider faded toward the high slot after the Rangers won a faceoff midway through the third period Thursday and snapped a shot toward the top corner, about the way he lifted both his arms into the air — then thrust them down — as he veered toward the boards to celebrate. 

In a down year, filled with injury absences and a healthy scratch and production numbers that pale in comparison to past seasons, Kreider took a step toward rediscovering the top-six form the Rangers depend on from their longest-tenured player.

He scored the game-winning goal in the Blueshirts’ 5-3 win against the Utah Hockey Club to end a three-game road trip with five out of a possible six points, got bumped back up to their first power-play unit and was one of the Rangers’ most “noticeable” players on the ice, head coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. 

Chris Kreider and the Rangers had a strong road trip out west.

Kreider still has collected just 16 points across 36 games this season.

It could become difficult for him to alter his current trajectory and reach the 30-goal threshold that has become the expectation in recent years.

But while this road trip could serve as a pivotal juncture for the Blueshirts, they at least need it to serve as a turning point for Kreider. 

Igor Shesterkin (31) gets a pat on the head by New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) after New York Rangers defeated the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Salt Lake City.

“He was excellent tonight,” Laviolette said of Kreider on Thursday. “… I thought he got better as the game went on in Colorado [on Tuesday]. I thought the third period was his best period, and then he came out and played three sharp periods for us tonight and had a huge impact in the game.” 

Kreider’s status for the road trip remained murky when the Rangers flew to the West Coast.

He was on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and didn’t play against the Golden Knights on Saturday.

Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) looks to shoot against Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the third period at Delta Center on Jan. 16, 2025.

But he returned three days later, and while he didn’t register a shot, Kreider, from his spot on the third line with Filip Chytil and Arthur Kaliyev, had at least reentered the lineup. 

His roller-coaster campaign in 2024-25 opened with two goals in the opener and five across the Rangers’ first five games, but Kreider followed that early bust with eight goals across his next 30 before Thursday.

During that time, Laviolette made him a healthy scratch — a stunning lineup decision before an ugly loss against the Devils going into the holiday break last month.

He missed three games at the end of November with back spasms, though he brushed that off by saying that “everybody is playing through something.”

And with the Rangers sputtering as the calendar flipped to 2025, searching for any spark or any sustained jolt that could lead to consecutive wins, Kreider hit injured reserve after a loss to the Capitals. 

When he returned, Laviolette kept him on the second power-play unit, though.

Vincent Trocheck took over Kreider’s net-front spot when the 33-year-old missed time, and he even tipped in a goal during the overtime loss to the Stars last week.

But the net front is Kreider’s place. It’s where he carved out a consistent role on the power play throughout his career, and during Thursday’s game, Laviolette brought Kreider back up to the top unit in place of Alexis Lafreniere. 

“The power play moves around,” Laviolette said Thursday. “We’ve got good players. We trust whoever goes out there. [Kreider’s] one of the best in the business at the net front.” 

So there was something vintage about that, too.

Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers celebrates a first-period goal during a game against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on January 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

It’ll take longer than one game, one goal, one night where everything went right for Kreider to salvage his season.

It’ll take longer than a three-game road trip for the Rangers — who sit four points out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot entering the weekend — to save their once-sinking campaign, too.

This is a different year for the Rangers, though.

They’ve been searching for a spark since November.

They traded away their captain, kept shuffling lines, made Kreider a healthy scratch — tweaking just about everything to make this work.

It took time for them. It took time for Kreider. 

And with his fifth game-winning goal of the season and the 49th of his career, giving him the second most in franchise history behind only Rod Gilbert’s 52, signs of a return to normalcy finally have started to emerge.