Chris Kreider still has a few to go to become the first Ranger with 50 goals since 2005-06, but he did set a franchise record on Tuesday.
Playing in front of what was a very pro-Blueshirts crowd at Prudential Center, Kreider notched his 25th power play goal of the season, tallying what was the ultimate game winner – his record 10th of the season in that category as well – in the Rangers' 3-1 win over the Devils.
The goal was Kreider's 47th on the season overall, which ties him for sixth in franchise history with Mark Messier (47 in 1995-96), but his 25th on the man advantage breaks the previous single-season record of 24 he shared with Jaromir Jagr (who had 24 in 2005-06), and his 10th game-winning goal breaks a tie he held with nine others – most recently Rick Nash in 2013-14 – for most by a Blueshirt in one campaign.
Kreider's next goal will tie him for fifth-most in a single season with Pierre Larouche, who had 48 in 1983-84. The Rangers have only ever had three players reach 50 goals in a season, and each one has broken the franchise record in doing so.
Vic Hadfield was the first to reach half a hundred, tallying 50 in 1971-72, and that record stood until Adam Graves netted 52 in the Stanley Cup season of 1993-94. His mark then stood for 12 years, until Jaromir Jagr set the current Rangers record with 54 in 2005-06.
Kreider has already broken Jagr's power play record from that year, and the Rangers have 11 games left for the former first-round pick to move up the charts – and he's on pace for a record-tying season, at least. He has played in all 71 games this season and has 47 goals, so extrapolating out the average numbers leaves his projected final total at 54.28.
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