Chris Kreider and the Rangers head into the All-Star break atop the Metropolitan Division, and for Kreider, atop the NHL's scoring leaders.
New York's veteran winger netted two in Tuesday night's win over the NHL-leading Panthers, giving the Blueshirts a statement win heading into the break.
Kreider, who entered the night tied with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead, now has 33 on the year, and 16 powerplay goals after netting his first of the night while on the man advantage to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
"It's been awesome playing with him," Mika Zibanejad said after assisting on Kreider's second goal. "I feel like the pucks are going in for him this year. He's still doing everything he's done for the last 5-6 years I've been playing with him. I'm just happy to see him getting rewarded."
Kreider, heading to his second All-Star appearance, helped the Rangers take down the NHL's points leader in Florida, and head into the two-week break on as high a note as they could have hoped for.
"That was perfect," head coach Gerard Gallant said. "The last two periods were great. We battled back from a tough first period…I was really happy with the way our team responded.
"I knew we had a good team. I didn't know what level we were gonna get to. But after tonight, you feel pretty good about your team."
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