This was Chris Kreider late Thursday night, responding to a question about how it felt to have played such a significant role in the Rangers’ seven-game opening round victory over Ottawa that propelled his team into the Eastern semifinals fewer than three weeks after leaving Boston College as a junior:
“Maybe if I had a little time I’d be able to throw a few more intelligent superlatives at it,” said the 20-year-old winger, who had scored the winner in Game 6 in Ottawa and was so assertive in Game 7. “But right now, it’s just crazy.”
The Saga of the Can’t Miss Kid from Boxford (Mass.) grew even crazier yesterday afternoon.
AP
Rangers rookie Chris Kreider, playing in just his sixth NHL game, all in the playoffs, beats Capitals goalie Braden Holtby to put the Rangers ahead to stay in yesterday’s 3-1 win over the Capitals at the Garden.
It was Kreider who broke through the bumper-to-bumper traffic of a 1-1 tie to blow a 30-foot wrist shot past Braden Holtby at 7:00 of the third period just 90 seconds before setting up Brad Richards for another score to lift the Blueshirts to a 3-1 victory over the Capitals at the Garden and 1-0 series lead. The best-of-seven continues here tomorrow night.
“I’m kind of at a loss for words,” Kreider, who just three weeks to the day earlier had been playing and winning the NCAA championship game, said this time. “I’m just trying to keep my head down and work hard.”
The winger, who broke to the middle when Mike Green went for a change and ripped the puck home after taking a headman feed on his tape from Derek Stepan, is a low talker, in dramatic contrast to the noisy “Kreider … Kreider” chants that reverberated through the big room on Broadway after he had scored.
“It was a surreal experience. I got goose bumps obviously,” said Kreider, who entered the lineup in Game 3 against Ottawa after Carl Hagelin was suspended. “I was really tired after the goal but didn’t feel so tired when they started chanting.”
Kreider scored his second pro goal on what was just the Rangers’ 11th shot of the match. Indeed, the Rangers had just four shots in the first period, not one from a forward, and merely eight shots through 40 minutes, three from forwards.
This Gridlock Alert affair produced little artistry. Both teams blocked 15 shots, both clogged the middle and protected the house. The Blueshirts finished with 14 shots and Washington with 18 against Henrik Lundqvist in addition to a handful of attempts that clanged off the posts and crossbar.
But this is exactly the style of hockey the Rangers — who played without both Brian Boyle and Brandon Dubinsky — expect throughout the series.
“We’re going to remain patient and stick to our structure,” Richards said. “It’s very important that we stick to it and not lose our composure.”
The Rangers did exactly that when Jason Chimera scored with just 3.5 seconds remaining in the second to negate the 1-0 lead the Blueshirts had gained on Artem Anisimov’s wraparound at 12:38, soon after a penalty kill of 3:27 that included 34 seconds of playing two-men down.
Maintaining composure has proved every bit as much an asset for Kreider as his legs. It had to be daunting to join an NHL team on the cusp of the playoffs that had finished first with a group that had been together for months.
“I talked to the team before he came in about how it was going to be a hard situation for him to come into a tight group that had done the things we did,” coach John Tortorella said. “I think both parties have handled it well.”
There was intense speculation before Kreider signed the day before the playoffs, but Richards admitted he paid it scant heed.
“Jumping into this level straight from school, I didn’t expect this,” the alternate captain said. “The way he’s done this is evidence of his hockey IQ.”
One day soon he might use his IQ to string together intelligent superlatives. For now, though, this will do.
larry brooks@nypost.com
Chris Kreider, Braden Holtby, Rangers, Rangers, Brad Richards, Ottawa, Ottawa, Blueshirts, Blueshirts, Capitals, NHL
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