Chris Kreider, 20 goal scorer
It’s the third season in a row he’s hit 20.
Chris Kreider has not been a 20 goal scorer his entire career.
... Just most of it.
When he became a full-time NHLer in the 2013-14 season, he scored 17 goals in 66 games after first getting his feet wet in the AHL. Of course, if he’d played a full season he would have likely hit 20, but that would come the next season, when he scored 21 goals in 80 games.
And then another 21 goals in 79 games last season. And now, thanks to an overtime winner, he’s hit 20 goals this year - 45 games in.
He’s currently second on the Rangers, behind Michael Grabner’s 22, and on pace for 34.
So that’s quite the leap for the 25-year-old, assuming he can keep it up. And honestly? Even though his shooting percentage this season is 16.3% - about 3% higher than his career average - he’s averaging 2.7 shots per game. That’s more than he shot the puck last season.
So will it be Kreider, 30-goal scorer? At this point, there’s really no reason to think otherwise.
