Adam Fox was unable to participate in his first-ever NHL All-Star Game due to an injury. However, Chris Kreider, the New York Rangers’ other selection was able to attend the festivities. The Rangers honored one of their all-time favorites, Henrik Lundqvist, retiring his jersey on Friday, Jan. 28, and more.
Fox – Upper Body Injury
Fox, who’s tied for the league lead for points by a defenseman with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman at 47, missed three games on injured reserve (IR) before the All-Star break and it’s not certain when he’ll return.
However, Fox and the Rangers did catch a break with the schedule since the team isn’t slated to play again until Feb. 15. That gives Fox three full weeks to heal his upper-body injury.
Kreider Helps Metro Win
Kreider helped the Metropolitan Division win the 3-on-3 All-Star Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Over the course of the two games, Kreider provided the Metro All-Stars with some offense. He scored in typical style, going hard to the net and taking a feed from New Jersey Devils’ star Jack Hughes. Kreider’s team beat the Pacific Division All-Stars 6-4 and Central Division All-Stars 5-3 to take home the $1 million prize.
“We were joking a little bit about that,” Kreider said about the division bragging rights after the win. “We think we’ve got one of the toughest divisions in hockey, so we might as well win the thing and prove it, right? A lot of teams [in the Metropolitan Division] kind of play the same. We were all kind of clogging the middle towards the end there and disrupting chances. Maybe [it’s] not the prettiest hockey at times, but finding a way to get it done.” (from ‘Chris Kreider scores to help Metropolitan Division win All-Star Game title,’ Newsday, 2/6/22)
Lundqvist’s Big Night
Henrik “The King” Lundqvist had his No. 30 jersey lifted to the rafters at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on Jan. 28. The night was exciting, emotional, and amazing all at once. He fought back tears of reflection and joy on an amazing career in which he played all of his 15 seasons with the Blueshirts. The former seventh-round draft pick of the Rangers played in 887 career games and amassed 459 wins while becoming the winningest goaltender in Ranger’s history.
He also played in 130 postseason games and helped the Rangers reach the 2014 Stanley Cup Final before losing a close, hard-fought series to the Los Angeles Kings. Lundqvist currently ranks sixth in NHL history with wins for netminders.
Related: Henrik Lundqvist’s Jersey Retirement Honors Him as an All-Time Ranger
The Rangers organization rolled out the blue carpet for Lundqvist and Ranger legends Mark Messier, Mike Richter, Adam Graves and Brian Leetch among others who were in attendance.
Othmann Named Top Prospect for January
The Rangers’ 2021 first-round draft pick Brennan Othmann was named the team’s Prospect of the Month for January. He recorded nine goals and nine assists in 11 games playing for the Flint Thunderbirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The 6-foot, 175-pound forward was recently named the Thunderbird’s captain. He’s seventh in the OHL in scoring with 30 goals and 57 points in 38 games thus far. He also has 35 penalty minutes (PIMs) and a plus-9 rating. Perhaps Othmann was spurred on last month by not being named to Canada’s World Junior Championship roster?