New York Rangers rookie phenom Chris Kreider scored in his third straight game on Saturday, as the Blueshirts shut out the New Jersey Devils 3-0 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference finals series.
With his most recent goal, Kreider sets a new scoring record for goals by a rookie who has not yet played his first regular-season NHL game, with five.
The previous record was three goals in one playoff year, shared by Ray Cote of the 1983 Edmonton Oilers and George McPhee of the 1983 Rangers (yes, the George McPhee who's now the Capitals GM). One player actually scored four goals, but Eddie Mazur of Montreal did it over the course of three playoffs from 1951-53 before making his regular-season debut in 1953-54.
With goals in such short supply in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Kreider's contributions may well have been the difference between success and failure for the Rangers so far. His first two goals were game-winners, staving off elimination in Game 6 against Ottawa, then grabbing the first game of the series against Washington. Of the five goals he's scored, only his tally in Game 2 against New Jersey came in a losing cause.
Kr ...
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Article written by Carol Schram
NHL Playoffs 2012: Chris Kreider Continues to Excel for New York Rangers
May 19th, 2012 by Carol Schram Leave a reply »
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