Kreider said early playoff exit may be "blessing in disguise" for Rangers

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Chris Kreider is confident that the Rangers early
playoff exit in 2016 is a positive for the team.

The New York Rangers in April faced one of their most early playoff exits in recent years. They were eliminated from the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games, the reverse of what happened between the two teams in Round one of 2015, where the Rangers won the series in five games.

The exit was the earliest one for Rangers winger Chris Krieder, who told NHL.com on Thursday that the early playoff exit may be a "blessing in disguise" for his team.

"I haven't been out this early since I was 17," the 25-year-old forward said Thursday. "It's a bit strange, but honestly it might be a little bit of a blessing in disguise for us. It's a good opportunity to get healthy and go work on some things moving forward."

Kreider, a first-round pick of the Rangers (No. 19) in the 2009 NHL Draft, has 61 regular-season goals in four seasons with the Rangers and has had 21 goals in each of the past two seasons. 

He just finished a two-year deal he signed after the 2013-14 season and can become a restricted free agent July 1. Kreider said he is focused on training for the 2016-17 season and not on a new contract with the Rangers.


"I haven't really thought about it, to be honest," Kreider said at a reception for 37.5 Technology, which helps develop sports apparel. "It's a bit of a cliche, but you can only control what you can control, and you just block everything else out. What I can control is getting in the gym, getting on the ice now, working to get healthy and get better."