In his third NHL game, the New York Ranger’s Chris Kreider scored on Ottawa’s Craig Anderson, which is impressive for a number of reasons. One, Kreider broke into the NHL in perhaps the fiercest first round playoff match this season. Two, the 31 year old Anderson has been playing like a vintage Marty Brodeur, at one point stopping 75 consecutive shots over 145:27. These were not the Rangers taking crappy shots, either. They were placing the puck well, but Anderson was like a magnet.
Anderson was serviceable this year with 33 wins, a 2.79 GAA, and a .913 SV%. DC ranked him 26th for goalies, and he finished ranked 32nd by Yahoo!’s metric, whatever that is. This postseason, however, he has stopped 167 of 179 shots for a .933 SV%, which would have ranked him third for the season for goalies with more than 20 starts. He has really elevated himself to an elite status in April, but I wouldn’t buy high on him next season. His stats this year fall in line with his career norms, and at best he’s a third goalie on your fantasy team.
Kreider is a little more intriguing. The Rangers took him in the first round (19th pick) of the 2009 NHL entry draft, and he played with Boston College through this year. This season in Beantown, the college junior scored 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists) in 44 games. He also tallied 66 PIM and a +9 rating. In 2011, he played for the U.S. team in the Ice Hockey World Championships, chock full of grizzled NHL playmakers and veterans, and scored 2 goals in 7 games. Do you draft him in the top ten rounds next season? No, of course not. Do you try to get milk out of his udder? Wrong Kreider. However, he is definitely worth a late round flyer, because if he plays for 2012-2013, he can give you 40 points.
