WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The longest remaining road trip for the Rangers this season got off to a rousing start Sunday when the Blueshirts wore down the struggling Winnipeg Jets, beating them 4-1 in Canada Life Centre, to kick off a four-game trip that continues Tuesday in Minnesota.
Chris Kreider continued the spectacular season he’s having by potting two goals as the Rangers won their third straight game and improved to 36-15-5 and pulled into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams have 77 points, but the Rangers have one game in hand on the Penguins, and have two more victories than Pittsburgh.
Kreider’s two goals gave him 38, which pulled him into a tie with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl for second-place in the league, one behind league-leader Auston Matthews of Toronto. His first came on the power play, in the first period, and the second came at 6:21 of the third period on a pretty play in which the speedy Kreider collected a pass banked off the left boards by Mika Zibanejad, then cut across the slot against Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and flipped a backhander into the net.
