Chris Kreider scores his 50th goal, but Rangers fall to Hurricanes

The Rangers’ chase for first place in the Metropolitan Division took a hit Tuesday night when they dropped a tight, 4-2 decision to the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden. But while the loss was certainly disappointing, the night was still special for the Blueshirts’ faithful, as the 18,006 in attendance got to see Chris Kreider join an elite group when he scored his 50th goal of the season, making him the fourth Rangers player to reach that plateau.

“I think it's awesome,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of Kreider’s achievement. “He scored 50 goals. I mean, that's huge.’’

And though Kreider, who hates to talk about himself and his personal success, said he never dreamed of scoring 50, and dreamed instead of winning the Stanley Cup, Gallant wasn’t buying it.

“We all dream about the Stanley Cup, but he's lying,’’ Gallant said. “He dreamt about scoring 50 goals. And that's a great feat. He’s had a great season for us, and it's too bad we had to lose when a guy scores his 50th. But hats off to him.’’

Kreider, who joined Vic Hadfield, Adam Graves and Jaromir Jagr as Rangers in the 50-goal club, was reluctant to talk about getting No. 50 in a game the Rangers lost.

“To be honest, I'm kind of glad it's over, because I think it was on other people's minds,’’ he said. “I could feel guys were looking for me. And (the Hurricanes) play very tight man-to-man (defense). And my good buddy (Carolina defenseman) Brett Pesce was tight to me a lot of the times, and guys were looking for me. And I was telling Mika (Zibanejad) I felt like a shooting guard a lot of the night, trying to work my way around picks, and get open… So I think it's better for the whole team now that we can just go back to playing hockey and taking what the other team gives us.’’

Kreider’s goal, with 1:38 remaining and goalie Igor Shesterkin pulled for the extra skater, drew the Rangers within 3-2. But Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina into the empty net with 5.8 seconds remaining to end the scoring.

Ex-Ranger Brady Skjei had two assists and another former Ranger, Jesper Fast, had one as the Hurricanes (48-18-8, 104 points) opened a four-point lead over the Rangers (47-21-6, 100) in the race for first in the division.

The game featured two of the top goalies in the league going against each other for the first time this season, with Shesterkin playing for the Rangers and Frederik Andersen playing for Carolina. Andersen and Shesterkin entered the game tied for the best goals-against average in the league, 2.07, while Shesterkin had the league’s best save percentage (.935) and Andersen was tied for fourth, with .925.

The Rangers got on the board first, when Zibanejad slipped a backhand pass through the slot that was banged in by K’Andre Miller at 1:03 of the second period. But Carolina tied it on a goal by Andrei Svechnikov, who chased a rebound behind the net and banked the puck off Shesterkin’s pad and in, at 13:38.

Seth Jarvis roofed a backhander against Shesterkin to put Carolina ahead at 1:02 of the third period, and Jordan Staal made it 3-1 when he whipped in a loose puck after Skjei’s shot was blocked and he corralled the loose puck in the high slot.

Blue shorts

Filip Chytil missed a second consecutive game with an upper body injury, but he practiced Monday and Gallant said he is getting closer to a return … The Rangers offered a video tribute to Fast at the first television timeout, and then to fellow ex-Rangers Skjei, Brendan Smith and Tony DeAngelo at the next stoppage. Some fans booed the tribute to DeAngelo.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.