BUFFALO — Ten years and nine months later, Chris Kreider has given me what folks on this business call a “scoop.”
For on the morning of his twelfth season-opening match, the conversation got around to No. 20’s first one in Boston on Jan. 19, 2013.
The NHL season had been delayed by an owners’ lockout and Kreider had played for the then-named AHL Connecticut Whale throughout the work stoppage after having made a splash for the Blueshirts within the 2012 playoffs while fresh off the Boston College campus.
“It was an enormous deal, whatever the playoffs,” said Kreider, who registered one shot in 10:13 of ice while playing on a line with Brian Boyle in the center and Taylor Pyatt on the fitting. “It was my first NHL regular-season game. It resonated.
“The issue was I used to be attempting to work through the broken ankle I got in my final AHL game.”
Say what?
“I broke my ankle in my last game there,” the senior Ranger repeated hours ahead of Thursday’s opener here against the Sabres. “We kept it pretty near the vest.”
For greater than 10 years it was kept near the vest.
The Rangers appeared filled with positive nervous energy coming off the ice from their morning skate Thursday. Linemates Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko, stalls adjoining, were conversing in Finnish. Chatter filled the locker room.
“Do I still get nerves?” Kreider reframed an issue posed to him. “In fact, I do. But I get nerves before every game. I even have those butterflies. I believe you would like that.
“But there’s all the time just a little more when it’s the opener.”
This one marked Peter Laviolette’s debut behind the Blueshirts bench. If this marks a fresh start for the athletes, so does it for the top coach.
“I do [look at it that way],” Laviolette said. “I believe any time you come right into a latest job it’s a latest opportunity. There are latest faces and also you’re working on really every little thing, from systems to relationships and trust.
“But I’m enthusiastic about that, too, within the sense that this can be a real good hockey team, an Original Six team, Latest York City, Latest York Rangers and an amazing group of men to work with.
“I’m enthusiastic about that.”
First impressions are usually not necessarily lasting ones. Bryan Trottier’s debut behind not only the Rangers bench but an NHL bench as head coach went swimmingly together with his team trouncing the Hurricanes 4-1 in Raleigh, N.C., on Oct. 9, 2002.
Trottier’s tenure ended three-plus months later after only 20 more victories and 53 more games.
Indeed, Tom Renney was the last coach to win his first game behind the Latest York bench. That was on Feb. 26, 2004, when the Blueshirts defeated the Islanders 6-3 on the Coliseum a day after Glen Sather relinquished the coaching job to focus completely on his duties as general manager.
John Tortorella lost his first two games as Rangers coach after replacing Renney on Feb. 25, 2009. The 2013-14 Rangers lost the opener — and 7 of their first 10 games — with Alain Vigneault having replaced Tortorella.
David Quinn’s Rangers got off to an 0-3 start in 2018-19 while the 2021-22 Blueshirts went 0-1-1 in Gerard Gallant’s first two contests behind the bench.
For whatever it’s value, Laviolette’s five prior NHL teams — the Islanders, ‘Canes, Flyers, Predators and Capitals — went 4-1 within the coach’s first games behind those teams’ respective benches.
This was a wierd camp. The club worked hard in practices and by all accounts the players were attentive within the classroom, but none of that translated to the six-game exhibition season by which the Rangers looked dreadful in going 1-5.
Zibanejad missed a while. Artemi Panarin missed a while. Filip Chytil missed a few weeks and all but the primary exhibition game. No. 72 thus didn’t get the chance to work much in any respect with Panarin, his newly assigned linemate on the left with whom he played 103:39 last 12 months and a complete of 387:29 of their shared 4 seasons on Broadway.
“Each time you see [Chytil] out on the ice, he seems incredibly strong together with his skating and his ability to make plays,” Laviolette said of the middle, who shall be joined on the fitting by Alexis Lafreniere. “This can be a place to begin. It’s Game 1.
“I’m excited to see it — similar to you can be — to see the way it goes.”
This can be a place to begin for Chytil and Panarin. This can be a place to begin for Laviolette. This can be a place to begin for Kreider, skating on two strong ankles.
This can be a place to begin for the Rangers.
BUFFALO — Ten years and nine months later, Chris Kreider has given me what folks on this business call a “scoop.”
For on the morning of his twelfth season-opening match, the conversation got around to No. 20’s first one in Boston on Jan. 19, 2013.
The NHL season had been delayed by an owners’ lockout and Kreider had played for the then-named AHL Connecticut Whale throughout the work stoppage after having made a splash for the Blueshirts within the 2012 playoffs while fresh off the Boston College campus.
“It was an enormous deal, whatever the playoffs,” said Kreider, who registered one shot in 10:13 of ice while playing on a line with Brian Boyle in the center and Taylor Pyatt on the fitting. “It was my first NHL regular-season game. It resonated.
“The issue was I used to be attempting to work through the broken ankle I got in my final AHL game.”
Say what?
“I broke my ankle in my last game there,” the senior Ranger repeated hours ahead of Thursday’s opener here against the Sabres. “We kept it pretty near the vest.”
For greater than 10 years it was kept near the vest.
The Rangers appeared filled with positive nervous energy coming off the ice from their morning skate Thursday. Linemates Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko, stalls adjoining, were conversing in Finnish. Chatter filled the locker room.
“Do I still get nerves?” Kreider reframed an issue posed to him. “In fact, I do. But I get nerves before every game. I even have those butterflies. I believe you would like that.
“But there’s all the time just a little more when it’s the opener.”
This one marked Peter Laviolette’s debut behind the Blueshirts bench. If this marks a fresh start for the athletes, so does it for the top coach.
“I do [look at it that way],” Laviolette said. “I believe any time you come right into a latest job it’s a latest opportunity. There are latest faces and also you’re working on really every little thing, from systems to relationships and trust.
“But I’m enthusiastic about that, too, within the sense that this can be a real good hockey team, an Original Six team, Latest York City, Latest York Rangers and an amazing group of men to work with.
“I’m enthusiastic about that.”
First impressions are usually not necessarily lasting ones. Bryan Trottier’s debut behind not only the Rangers bench but an NHL bench as head coach went swimmingly together with his team trouncing the Hurricanes 4-1 in Raleigh, N.C., on Oct. 9, 2002.
Trottier’s tenure ended three-plus months later after only 20 more victories and 53 more games.
Indeed, Tom Renney was the last coach to win his first game behind the Latest York bench. That was on Feb. 26, 2004, when the Blueshirts defeated the Islanders 6-3 on the Coliseum a day after Glen Sather relinquished the coaching job to focus completely on his duties as general manager.
John Tortorella lost his first two games as Rangers coach after replacing Renney on Feb. 25, 2009. The 2013-14 Rangers lost the opener — and 7 of their first 10 games — with Alain Vigneault having replaced Tortorella.
David Quinn’s Rangers got off to an 0-3 start in 2018-19 while the 2021-22 Blueshirts went 0-1-1 in Gerard Gallant’s first two contests behind the bench.
For whatever it’s value, Laviolette’s five prior NHL teams — the Islanders, ‘Canes, Flyers, Predators and Capitals — went 4-1 within the coach’s first games behind those teams’ respective benches.
This was a wierd camp. The club worked hard in practices and by all accounts the players were attentive within the classroom, but none of that translated to the six-game exhibition season by which the Rangers looked dreadful in going 1-5.
Zibanejad missed a while. Artemi Panarin missed a while. Filip Chytil missed a few weeks and all but the primary exhibition game. No. 72 thus didn’t get the chance to work much in any respect with Panarin, his newly assigned linemate on the left with whom he played 103:39 last 12 months and a complete of 387:29 of their shared 4 seasons on Broadway.
“Each time you see [Chytil] out on the ice, he seems incredibly strong together with his skating and his ability to make plays,” Laviolette said of the middle, who shall be joined on the fitting by Alexis Lafreniere. “This can be a place to begin. It’s Game 1.
“I’m excited to see it — similar to you can be — to see the way it goes.”
This can be a place to begin for Chytil and Panarin. This can be a place to begin for Laviolette. This can be a place to begin for Kreider, skating on two strong ankles.
This can be a place to begin for the Rangers.
