Welcome to the Eastern Conference Final, Chris Kreider.
The Rangers forward, held scoreless a point since a hat trick in Game 6 of the second round, finally broke through in a huge way in Game 5 in the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night at the Garden to put the Blueshirts on the board.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, it was enough as they fell 3-2 to the Panthers in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Finals series.
The Blueshirts will face the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. on Saturday night, looking to avoid elimination.
With the Rangers on the penalty kill, the Panthers turned the puck over in their offensive zone to Kreider, who quickly tipped the puck to Mika Zibanejad.
Zibanejad sensed they had a chance at a short-handed chance, and skated with pace up the ice before feeding Kreider in stride at the Rangers’ offensive blue line.
Chris Kreider celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of the Rangers’ Game 5 vs. the Panthers. Getty ImagesKreider used his body to shield himself from Sam Reinhart before using a quick forehand-to-backhand move to beat Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Rangers up 1-0 at 2:04 in the second period.
For a series where the Rangers have received little from their stars, Kreider’s goal was a moment where the narrative was briefly changed, but it still wasn’t enough to lead them to victory.
