Rangers' Kreider Out Indefinitely Following Surgery On Left Hand

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The news on Chris Kreider just went from bad to worse.

With the Rangers in the throes of a pressure-packed run for a playoff spot, they will have to play on without their key forward, who is out indefinitely due to surgery on his left hand.

The procedure was being performed Friday by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, the team announced.

Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed the injury earlier in the week, and told reporters that Kreider would not join the team on its four-game road trip beginning Friday night in Calgary and ending on April 3.

"He got hurt in the Columbus game. There's very limited pain, very small amount of pain," Vigneault said.

The Rangers recalled center J. T. Miller from the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday morning.

Kreider, a Massachusetts native, has had a solid season for New York, putting up 17 goals and 20 assists in 66 games.

Kreider is tied for fourth among NHL rookies in points and ranks fifth in goals. The Rangers are 11-2-1 in games when he has tallied a goal, and 19-7-2 when he has registered a point.

Heading into Friday night's game against the Flames, the Rangers are in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 86 points, three points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers, whom they beat on Wednesday.

The Rangers, who have seven games remaining, are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind fourth-place Tampa Bay.

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