REPORT: Key player confirms he’s ready to play for the Rangers in their critical
Despite skipping practice the day before for maintenance and receiving a vague prognosis from his coach, Chris Kreider assured reporters that he’ll be in the lineup when the New York Rangers face the Carolina Hurricanes in a crucial Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Thursday.
Kreider took both off days between Games 5 and 6 to rest but participated in an optional morning skate at PNC Arena on Thursday. While coach Peter Laviolette described Kreider’s participation as “a real positive,” it was Kreider himself who confirmed he’s ready to play as the Rangers attempt to close out the series for the third consecutive game.
In the recent 4-1 Game 5 loss at Madison Square Garden, the 33-year-old forward was minus-3 and had no shots on goal. Kreider has been scoreless and without a shot in the past two games, both losses following a 3-0 series lead.
Kreider has accumulated four points in the series, including a key shorthanded goal in the Game 3 overtime win and a power-play goal in Game 2’s double-overtime victory.
It’s unclear if Kreider is dealing with an injury. “I’m hoping that today was just a normal playoff maintenance,” Laviolette said Wednesday.
Rangers need more from Chris Kreider
Perhaps the extra day off will provide a much-needed boost for the Rangers, whose top players have been stifled by the Hurricanes in the past two games. Among their top-six forwards, only Alexis Lafreniere has scored a goal (in Game 4), with the only other point from this group being an assist by Mika Zibanejad in the same game.
The @Canes strike again!
Evgeny Kuznetsov gives Carolina the lead! #CauseChaos | #StanleyCup
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 14, 2024
Artemi Panarin, who scored the overtime winner in Game 3, has struggled since then, going minus-5 without a point. He was notably outplayed in Game 5 by Evgeny Kuznetsov, who scored the game-winning goal after beating Panarin to a rebound in the third period.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, narratives can shift quickly. The Rangers were dominant, winning their first seven postseason games. Now, after two consecutive losses, they’re facing questions about their mental toughness.
A win in Game 6 would demonstrate their resilience and championship qualities. Despite the challenges, these teams are evenly matched, and closing out playoff games this year has proven difficult. Teams facing elimination in 2024 (excluding Game 7s) have a record of 10-6, including 4-0 in the second round.
The Hurricanes are 2-0 when facing elimination in Round 2, while the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche each won Game 5 of their respective series after trailing 3-1.
Kreider and the Rangers are determined to end this trend on Thursday.