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New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider Finally Becoming Superstar

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Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports

Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports

Chris Kreider was a first-round draft pick  in 2009, and he broke into the NHL during the 2012 playoffs, touted as one of the New York Rangers’ best prospects since Brian Leetch. In his three full seasons in the league, Kreider has both dazzled and baffled. He has shown flashes of brilliance, especially in big games, and at other times, he has made mind-boggling mistakes, incurring the wrath of his coaches and the fans.

Now, as his team prepares to enter Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Washington Capitals, it seems that Kreider, with help from Henrik Lundqvist, has single-handedly willed his team back from a 3-1 series deficit to this moment. Fans and media expect seasoned veterans and stars like Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis to score goals in big moments. Why? Because that’s what superstars with big contracts are expected to do. Kreider recently turned 24 and doesn’t have the big contract of a Nash or a St. Louis. Right now, though, he is producing like an $8 million-per-year player.

Kreider was projected to be a superstar when he entered the league, and he has fulfilled that role, and then some, during this series. Right now, the Rangers would be on the golf course if not for his game-tying goal with 1:41 remaining in Game 5, or his two goals in the first period of Game 6.

Aside from clutch goals, which he has shown a knack for in past postseasons, he has arguably been the Rangers’ most visible player on the ice this postseason. He is being physical and going to the dirty areas, he’s skating faster than anyone on the ice and, aside from a costly turnover in Game 4, he’s managed the puck very well. More importantly, the misguided notion of Kreider being a goalie-killer is waning; he is being smarter about going to the net and is showing much more poise in those moments, not taking dumb penalties or being overzealous. His goal in the first minute of Game 6 is a prime example.

Superstars show up in the biggest moments for their team, and that is what Kreider is doing right now. If it continues, and the Rangers advance past Washington, he may be the biggest X-factor to the Rangers winning a Stanley Cup.

Matt Stillwell is a New York Rangers contributor for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattNYR12!

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