Chris Kreider of Boxford, MA was named the National Hockey League’s first star of the week for the Week from January 17 to 23 according to Phillip Martinez of Yahoo! Sports. In three games, Kreider had five goals and two assists for seven points.
Kreider began the week on January 19, as he scored an even strength goal on five shots on goal in a 6-3 Rangers win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden. Kreider’s goal put the Rangers up 5-3 with four minutes and 27 seconds left in regulation.
On Friday, Kreider scored once and had one assist in a 6-3 Rangers loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Then on Saturday, Kreider had his finest game of the season. He had three goals and one assist for four points in a 7-3 Rangers win over the Arizona Coyotes. Kreider tied the game at two with a shorthanded marker from Mika Zibanejad and Jacob Trouba at 11:30 of the second period. That was followed by an unassisted goal with 1:18 left in the second period to put the Rangers up 5-3. Then at 10:06 of the third period, Kreider closed out the scoring with a power-play goal from Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin. Kreider’s assist against the Coyotes came on a goal by Trouba at 3:15 of the first period.
In addition to the seven points, Kreider was a +4 with two penalty minutes, three power-play points, one shorthanded point, 11 shots on goal, seven hits, two blocked shots, and two faceoff wins.Kreider continued his offensive prowess on Monday as he scored in a 3-2 Rangers win over the Los Angeles Kings. Currently Kreider leads the NHL with 30 goals and 15 power-play goals.
Kreider’s fifth career hat trick came against the Coyotes. He previously scored thrice in a 5-2 Rangers win over the Vancouver Canucks on November 30, 2013, in a 6-2 Rangers win over the Colorado Avalanche on December 31, 2016, in a 4-3 Rangers loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on February 24, 2021, and in a 6-1 Rangers win over the New Jersey Devils on March 4, 2021.
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