Boy, what a different team the Rangers are when Chris Kreider is going.
Inconsistency has been the theme during this tumultuous start to the season, and Kreider has not been exempt from that designation. But he was the best version of himself on Saturday night in Montreal, when the Blueshirts staged a dramatic comeback win over the Canadiens, erasing a 4-0 second-period deficit en route to a 6-5 victory.
Kreider’s first shift, he laid a huge hit on Tomas Tatar — maybe a little high, but it went unpenalized (and Tatar returned). With the Rangers having lost an ugly 4-1 game in Ottawa the night before, the message for the follow-up was clear from the beginning.