PHILADELPHIA — The fastest way to cool off a hot team is to saddle them with an untimely injury to a key player.
The Rangers, riding a five-game winning streak and having won nine straight road games and nine of 10 overall, suffered a major blow Friday night when left wing Chris Kreider suffered a broken foot blocking a shot during the first period against the Flyers.
Kreider, who signed a seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension Monday, just hours before the Rangers might have had to trade him away the deadline. He's been having a fabulous season, with 24 goals and 21 assists in 62 games, and was one of the hottest players in the league until he was slowed by a virus in the early part of this week.