Rangers hoping road trip is just beginning of Chris Kreider turnaround

There was something vintage about this, about the way Chris Kreider faded toward the high slot after the Rangers won a faceoff midway through the third period Thursday and snapped a shot toward the top corner, about the way he lifted both his arms into the air — then thrust them down — as he veered toward the boards to celebrate. In a down year, filled with injury absences and a healthy scratch and production numbers that pale in comparison to past seasons, Kreider took a step toward rediscovering the top-six form the Rangers depend on from their longest-tenured player.He scored the game-winning goal in the Blueshirts’ 5-3 win against the Utah Hockey Club to end a three-game road trip with five out of a possible six points, got bumped back up to their first power-play unit and was one of the Rangers’ most “noticeable” players on the ice, head coach Peter Laviolette said postgame. Kreider still has collected just 16 points across 36 games this season.

It could become difficult for him to alter his current trajectory and reach the 30-goal threshold that has become the expectation in recent years.But while this road trip could serve as a pivotal juncture for the Blueshirts, they at least need it to serve as a turning point for Kreider. “He was excellent tonight,” Laviolette said of Kreider on Thursday.

“… I thought he got better as the game went on in Colorado [on Tuesday].I thought the third period was his best period, and then he came out and played three sharp periods for us tonight and had a huge impact in the game.” Kreider’s status for the road trip remained murky when the Rangers flew to the West Coast.

He was on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and didn’t play against the Golden Knights on Saturday.But he returned three days later, and while he didn’t register a shot, Kreider, from his spot on the third line with Filip Chytil and Arthur Kaliyev, had at least reentered the lineup. His roller-coaster campaign in 2024-...