The New York Rangers endured a rude awakening Friday night in Philadelphia.
After winning nine of their previous 10 games, their momentum finally ended as they lost 5-2 to the Flyers. To make matters worse, Chris Kreider suffered a serious injury.
The forward went down midway through the first period after blocking a shot by Philadelphia's Philippe Myers. Kreider headed straight for the bench and the Rangers quickly announced on Twitter that he fractured his foot and wouldn't return to the game.
The Rangers have announced that Chris Kreider sustained a fractured foot – here's where he blocked Philippe Myers in the first period, and left the game shortly after #NYR pic.twitter.com/titkzQVXQ2
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 29, 2020
Rangers coach David Quinn said after the game that there was no timetable for Kreider's return.
Depending on the severity of the fracture, he could be sidelined anywhere from several weeks to several months. Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs recently suffered a similar injury, also while blocking a shot, and was ruled out for at least eight weeks. Smaller fractures can have recovery periods of two to four weeks, however.
The injury is a tough blow for Kreider, who was widely rumored to be leaving New York before the trade deadline on Monday but instead ended up signing a seven-year, $45 million contract extension that will keep him with the Rangers for the foreseeable future. Kreider has spent his entire career with the team since being drafted in 2009.
It's also a big setback for the Rangers, who have fought their way into the playoff picture after a rocky start to the season. They sit two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with just over a month remaining in the regular season, and now they'll be without one of their top offensive players. Kreider, 28, has put up 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 63 games this year.
