The New York Rangers fueled speculation as they scratched Chris Kreider from the lineup against their Hudson River rivals, the New Jersey Devils. Kreider was asked about it Friday by Newsday's Colin Stephenson.

That hadn’t been the case recently, though, at least not to most folks’ memory. Not until Peter Laviolette left the 33-year-old Kreider out of the lineup that faced the Devils on Monday, in the Rangers’ final game before the NHL’s holiday break.

Chris Kreider, the longest-tenured player on the New York Rangers, was a healthy scratch Monday against the New Jersey Devils. The move, while aimed at shaking the lineup to try and provide it with another spark,