Chris Kreider has no one else to blame for his Rangers scratch embarrassment

It was 220 days ago that Chris Kreider woke up to a bunch of caps on his front lawn that were left in recognition of his third-period hat trick in the previous night’s Game 6 in Carolina that clinched the second-round series. 

The Presidents’ Trophy winners were advancing to the conference finals for the second time in three years, and Kreider, a Blueshirt since the 2012 playoffs, was having his No. 20 fitted for eventual presentation at the Garden’s pinwheel ceiling. 

Now, just over seven months later, Kreider became the latest victim of the Rangers’ free fall that reached 4-13 with a 5-0 no-show defeat to the Devils at the Rock when the winger was designated as a healthy scratch by head coach Peter Laviolette. 

Wait a second. What am I saying? Kreider, a healthy scratch for the first time since John Tortorella’s reign behind the bench ended following 2012-13, was no victim. In fact, he has been a co-conspirator in both his and his team’s demise over the past month’s implosion.