The New York Rangers are welcoming back one of their key players.
On Tuesday, the team activated forward Chris Kreider from injured reserve. The 33-year-old had been dealing with an upper-body injury. Kreider was placed on IR on January 5, which allowed him to only miss the minimum required games, making him eligible to play against the Colorado Avalanche.
Kreider missed the last four games due to his injury, but the Rangers have performed well without him, going 3-0-1 recently and starting their road trip with a 2-1 victory over the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights last Saturday. They will continue their trip with their first-ever game in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night.
The Massachusetts native has already faced a few injuries this season, including a back issue that caused him to miss a game against the New Jersey Devils just before Christmas, raising speculation about a potential trade for the longest-tenured Ranger. He also missed some games around American Thanksgiving due to another upper-body injury.
Kreider’s offensive production has been heavily reliant on goals this season. In 34 games, he has scored 13 goals and recorded two assists for a total of 15 points. This scoring pace is below last season’s, when he nearly reached a career-high of 75 points in 82 games, contributing to the Rangers’ President’s Trophy win.
Over his 849 NHL games, all with the Rangers, Kreider has achieved 317 goals and 250 assists, totaling 567 points. He has also tallied 76 points in 123 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Rangers (20-20-2) currently sit seventh in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
