Memo to Torts: Keep Nash and Kreider together

Fresh out of Boston College, Chris Kreider scored five goals in 18 playoff games last season, more than anyone in NHL history before playing in their first regular-season game. The next chapter was anything but fun. Kreider spent most of the 2012-13, lockout-shortened, season in the AHL. A playoff hero the year before, Kreider played 48 games in the minors, 21 with the Rangers, and had just two goals for the big club.

The big issue amongst New York Rangers fans and media was not about Kreider's production, but his playing time. Fresh off a controversial (but necessary) decision to bench invisible center Brad Richards in an elimination game, Rangers head coach John Tortorella heard the criticism about how Krieder was yanked between the NHL and AHL, and how he barely saw the ice when he wore Rangers blue.

So he thought to himself, "Why not?" when he paired Kreider with Rick Nash in overtime of Game 4, a 3-3 game between the Rangers and Boston Bruins where one more B's goal would sound the funeral bells on a season many expected the Rangers to compete for -- or win -- the Stanley Cup.


"You guys have been kicking my ass all around all year long about [my not] wanting to play him, and he steps up and makes a big play for us," Tortorella said.

The Kid and Big 61 started a 2-on-2 break when Kreider passed to Nash in the neutral zone and jetted toward the Bruins' net. Nash whipped a perfect pass -- inches from the blade of B's defenseman Zdeno Chara's beanstalk-long stick -- that hit Kreider's tape. Kreider powered past Dougie Hamilton to poke the puck past goaltender Tuukka Rask and Madison Square Garden erupted.

Game over. Rangers win 4-3, They still trail 3-1, but have big hopes that they can become just the fourth team to rally back from a 0-3 deficit.

"So surreal," Kreider said. "Not something that can really be explained. It’s just something that has to be felt. It was awesome. Just exciting to give these guys an opportunity to play another day."

Kreider entered the playoffs on the third line. He now deserves to play on the top line with Nash and Derick Brassard. Team Tortorella needs someone to ride shotgun with Big 61. The Kid is it. The chemistry is there. Thanks to that duo, the Rangers' season remains alive with doubt in the collective minds of a Bruins team that prior to winning a Stanley Cup was one that blew an 0-3 series lead. This year's Bruins are good -- real good -- but their ability to decisively terminate an opponent remains in question. In the first round, they nearly choked away a 3-1 lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs before a miracle Game 7 comeback.

On Thursday, they led 2-0 and turned the Garden into a morgue before Lady Luck tapped the Rangers' shoulder. Rask slipped and misplayed the puck on Carl Hagelin's break to make it 2-1. Derek Stepan pick-pocketed Chara behind the Bruins' net and scored on a wraparound to make it 2-2. Even after the Bruins regained the lead, Stepan fed Brian Boyle for a picturesque one-timer to tie the game and set up Kreider's heroics.

"I tried to give it to Rick, which was something I was trying to do a lot tonight; he’s such a talented player," Kreider said. "And then I just tried to drive the net and put my stick on the ice, and he was able to find my tape. That’s what he does."

Krieder and Nash as a tag-team is a recipe for success, one that Tortorella ought to leave alone and let flourish, no questions asked or ass-kicking required.

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