Kreider hat trick leads Rangers to 7-4 win over Montreal Rangers power play finally scores

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In New York, Chris Kreider collected his first hat trick of the campaign for the Rangers in a 7-4 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

It was his sixth career NHL hat trick.

“He was in the right place at the right time,” the Rangers Mika Zibanejad said. “I thought we had some good scoring chances. He’s a goal scorer, so that’s what he does.”

Jonathan Quick made 31 saves in the win.

The Rangers improved to 35-16-3 off their sixth straight win.

Adam Fox picked up four assists for the Rangers.

“We’re trying to keep this rolling,” Fox said. “The outdoor game is going to be a fun experience for everyone, and it’s still a big two points. We’re trying to keep this going and also trying to soak in that experience and have fun with it, too.”

The game, and the offense,  started  slowly for the Rangers.  Montreal took a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza on a goal by Jake Evans at 14:29.

“Momentum is something that you’ve got to be able to harness,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. “We kind of had the game in control at that point, and it gets away from us quick. It’s a lesson we’ll learn tonight and hopefully we won’t repeat.”

The Rangers then reeled off four goals in the middle frame, all four were scored in a stretch of 4:10 in the period.

Kreider potted his first of the game at 11:09 with a wicked one-timer from the left side to tie the game, 1-1. with a one-timer from the top of the left circle.

Will Cuylle then put the Rangers up, 2-1, off a backhand shot from down low at 12:27.

“You get a goal, you get a little bit more jump in your game,” Zibanejad said. “I thought up until that point, the first few minutes in the second was not great obviously, but we were a little more aggressive. We weren’t waiting for anything to happen. We tried to take charge of that.”

Zibanejad the hit for a shorthanded goal at 14:43 for a 3-1 lead to New York.

Kreider then potted his double at 15:19 off a power play goal for a 4-1 lead.

The power play strike ended a run of futility for 18 straight power play chances.

“After the first period it was Mika and ‘Kreids’ and ‘Foxy’ picked it up, Panarin,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “Our big guys got going and started really playing a much better game on the attack. … There were good things after the first period.”

Montreal dropped to 22-24-8.

The Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky  scored after a Ranger turnover at 16:30 to cut the deficit to 4-2 headed to the third period.

“That’s one thing,” Slafkovsky said, “but we want to win these games and we want to stay in the mix for the playoffs, so we have to do a better job. We can’t let seven goals in. You can’t win the hockey game when that happens.”

For a change of pace, the Rangers did not let up on the gas in the third period.

Vincent Trocheck converted an Artemi Panarin pass at 4:23 of the third for a 5-2 lead to the Rangers.

Cole Caufield   tipped in a shot for a 5-3 score at 6:53 of the third.

Kreider the collected his hats at 7:59 for the period for a 6-3 lead to the Rangers. .

The Rangers’ Kaapo Kakko potted his sixth of the season midway through the third for a 7-3 advantage.

Caufield potted his second of the night at 11:27 for the 7-4 final count on the scoreboard.

“We’ve been finding ways to win differently,” Zibanejad said. “I think we’ve played way better. There’s been a few periods when we’re not happy, but overall, it’s been trending in the right direction. We’ve just got to keep it going.”

Use CodePHN15 – Kreider earns the #PHNChairoftheNight for his first hat trick of the season

Sam Montembeault made 24 saves in the loss..