Just outside the visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden on Monday morning, Chris Kreider did his best to downplay his return to New York.

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As someone who has never enjoyed the individual spotlight, it was evident that Kreider wasn’t exactly at ease as he fielded questions about his 13 years as a Ranger, what it meant to him, and how he expected to feel going into his first game against the organization that drafted him 19th overall in 2009.

Kreider has always been good at making it about his team, now the up-and-coming Ducks. And that’s exactly what he did ahead of his first game against the Blueshirts since they traded him to Anaheim this past offseason.

While Kreider certainly didn’t sound like someone who wanted to leave New York, the veteran forward seemed fulfilled by his new opportunity with the Ducks.