NEW YORK - There are a handful of NHL players who have earned the reputation as net-front wizards, with Chris Kreider undoubtedly among them. But there's one area of the ice where his touch is unmatched.

The redirect from the side of the net − a play that requires specific positioning, perfect timing and precise angling of the stick − is a shot that no one does better.

It was that exact sequence that cemented the 32-year-old forward's place as one of the best goal-scorers in Rangers' history. Kreider's second tally in a 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday at Madison Square Garden gave him 281 for his career, pushing him past Adam Graves for third on the franchise's all-time list.

It came on a feed from Artemi Panarin with 3:41 remaining in the second period. With a quick twitch of the wrists, Panarin's pass suddenly became a Kreider shot that beat Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal over his left shoulder to give the Blueshirts a two-goal lead.

"It’s kind of fitting it was the tip goal there on the power play that got it," defenseman Adam Fox said. "It's something that’s no accident. He works on it, and you get rewarded when you do the things like that."

Predictably, Kreider wasn't interested in reflecting on his accomplishment.

He's as intensely focused on the task at hand as anyone in the Rangers' dressing room − perhaps as much as any player in the league − which explains why he's sitting in his current position.

"I love Adam Graves," he said with a smile that vanished in an instant. "But that's hard to talk about right now postgame, especially with a game tomorrow.”

But while Kreider is reticent to talk about himself, his teammates do so willingly.

"You're not going to get much out of him, but I'm super proud," said Kreider's longtime center and close friend Mika Zibanejad. "Whenever he hangs it up, he’s going to be able to enjoy it. Right now, he's so professional. He's just thinking about the next game."

Legendary status

Kreider's second goal of the game gave him an even 100 power-play tallies for his career. His first goal, which tied the score at 1-1 toward the end of the first period, registered as his 500th career point.

But the most impressive milestone was passing Graves. Five of the top-six scorers in franchise history have their numbers hanging from the MSG rafters, with Kreider the only one who's yet to join that club. It now seems like a foregone conclusion that his No. 20 will be added at a later date.

He's got a long way to go until then, though. The 2009 first-round pick has three-and-a-half years left on his current contract, at which point he'll just be turning 36. That should give him ample time to catch up to Jean Ratelle, who ranks second all-time with 336 goals.

It'll be a much further climb to reach Rod Gilbert, with Mr. Ranger sitting atop the list with 406. But it's not out of the question if Kreider finishes his career in New York, especially given the way he takes care of his body and continues to evolve.

"I thought this before my time (here), but I think he's one of the best down around that area – in front of the net, just off to the side of the net," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "His hand-eye coordination is through the roof and he sees the next play, makes the next play, a big body. He’s everything you want for a down-low guy."

The wild part is that 104 of his 281 career goals have come after he turned 30, a span of just two-plus seasons.

The Boxford, Mass. native never scored more than 28 in any of his first nine seasons before exploding for 52 in 2021-22, followed by 36 last season and 16 through the first 28 games of the current campaign.

"It's pretty impressive to see his career arc in terms of always being a steady goal-scorer, and then he kind of took off," Fox said. "Now he just finds the back of the net with ease."

A bounce-back win

Despite all of the attention on Kreider, his main focus was on the team.

A bounce-back win was needed for the Rangers (20-7-1), who had lost three of their previous four games entering Friday.

"I thought it was an improvement," Kreider said. "I think there was probably a few moments that they were able to get some pretty good looks, and obviously (Jonathan Quick) came up really big for us. But definitely a step in the right direction."

Slump: Rangers not 'panicking' in midst of first rough patch

It didn't look great during a first period when they took two penalties and didn't muster much offensive-zone time, with Brett Leason scoring at the 13:30 mark to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. But Kreider flipped the script by scoring the tying goal before the period was through.

Then came a key play from Jimmy Vesey, who we might as well start calling Big Shot Jim. The 30-year-old forward was sporting a full face shield after taking a puck to the face during Thursday's practice, but it didn't seem to be any hinderance.

An effective forechecking shift led to a strong play from Blake Wheeler along the wall, a feed from Fox and a finish from Vesey. That put the Rangers ahead, 2-1, and gave Vesey his fourth game-winning goal out of the seven he's scored this season.

For his career, 27 of his 90 goals have registered as game winners. That's 30%.

Kreider added some insurance before the second period was through and Zibanejad netted a power-play goal in the third, with New York's defense holding it down from there. After allowing four goals or more in four of their previous five games, the Blueshirts limited the Ducks to one goal in the game and zero high-danger scoring chances in what Laviolette called a "smart and clean" third period.

"When we're playing well, we're not giving up odd-man rushes and second-chance opportunities," Fox said. "I guess any team could say that, but I think you could see in some of our losses that's kind of gotten away from us. That's why we were losing some games by letting up a lot of goals. It was chances around the net, so we obviously want to tighten that up. And then you're going to need some saves, and Quickie gave us those tonight, for sure."

Quick finished with 29 saves to improve to 9-0-1 in what has been a storybook season so far for the 37-year-old veteran.

He's earning more starts, with Laviolette saying, "We were fortunate to get him and have him here." But the expectation is that Igor Shesterkin will take the net for Saturday's 7 p.m. marquee matchup in Boston against the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins.

"We've responded well after losses or after games we haven't been happy with," Zibanejad said. "We did that tonight again, but we’ve got to make sure that we're not satisfied just with the response today – that we want to keep this going. It's going to be another tough game tomorrow."

A memorable debut for Adam Edström

The Rangers were playing shorthanded, with forward Nick Bonino (illness) and defenseman K'Andre Miller (personal reasons) both missing from the lineup, on top of already having forwards Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko on long-term injured reserve.

Bonino's late scratch resulted in a memorable NHL debut for 6-foot-7 forward prospect Adam Edström, who finished off the win with his first career goal.

"It was amazing," he said. "I can't really understand it at this point. I kind of blacked out when I scored. I think I went up to the boards, but it's a special feeling."

The 23-year-old was recalled earlier in the day but was not expected to play.

He didn't take warmup rushes (or the traditional rookie lap), but when the team got back to the locker room, Bonino approached Edström and told him he wasn't feeling up to playing.

"I was a bit shocked because I didn't really do any reps out there in warmup," Edström said. "I was just standing around stick-handling, but it was time to get to it."

Not only did he score, but he was an active presence all night with three shots on goal − including a nifty between-the-legs shot from right in front of the net during the second period − two hits and a takeaway.

Edström said it added to his comfort to be placed on a line with Jonny Brodzinski, who he played alongside earlier in the year with AHL Hartford. But regardless of his circumstances, the 2019 sixth-round draft pick looked like he belonged.

"That's tough sometimes," Laviolette said of Edström's short notice. "Maybe that's good, too. Sometimes you think about it all day and you think about it too much. It was a game-time decision, and he came in and I thought he played a real strong game."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Chris Kreider cements place among Rangers' legends