The New York Rangers have been without Chris Kreider since January 4 due to an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve just as the team started to dig out their hole in the standings. Amid trade rumors and a miserable season, he is now healthy and ready to go. The Rangers activated Krieder from injured reserve ahead of Tuesday’s matchup with the Colorado Avalanche.
“Chris Kreider has been activated off IR, per NHL media site,” New York Post’s Mollie Walker reported Tuesday.
Bo Groulx has been re-assigned to the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League, per the team. Kreider missed four games and the Rangers picked up points in each of those games, going 3-0-1. The veteran was a big part of the team’s issues before the Christmas break. If he comes back 100%, they could make a late push for the playoffs.
The Rangers have just a 15.2% chance of making the playoffs, according to Moneypuck. A rough start to the season will doom NHL teams, as there are so many teams to jump and the overtime-loss point makes it difficult to make big moves. But a massive win streak could spring them into contention in a weak Eastern Conference.
Could the Rangers make a second-half push?
Kreider has only 15 points through 34 games this season and two of them are assists. The poor performance did not cost him a spot on Team USA for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off but the Rangers paid for it. While the season is not over, they have to pick up the pace now.
Their game against the Avalanche on Tuesday is their last great opponent for a while. A game against Utah is followed by key Eastern Conference games they must win. The Blue Jackets, Canadiens, Senators, and Flyers are all ahead of them in the standings and on the schedule in that order.
While Kreider has been brutal this season, he can pick it up in this stretch. Those teams have been better than the Rangers this season but are not better than them on paper. With Igor Shesterkin also back from injury, they have a better roster now than they did when this win streak started.
There are plenty of other veterans who can make a big impact on the Rangers in the second half. Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin need to step up as well and the scoring from the blue line could improve as well.
