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You probably saw it.
And if you did, if you were watching All-Star weekend through the lens of a Rangers fan, the chumminess on the Metropolitan Division bench between Chris Kreider and Tom Wilson, Public Enemy No. 1 around these parts for the last nine-plus months, almost surely took you aback.
Now, with Wilson and the Capitals a-back at the Garden on Thursday for the first time since the conflagration, which ensnared Artemi Panarin and a cast of thousands, erupted on the ice last May 3 before planting itself in the psyche of citizens of Rangerstown right beside Dave Schultz-Dale Rolfe, Kreider explained his interactions with No. 43 at the Vegas extravaganza.
“There’s a respect and professionalism away from the game and I think everyone understands that,” said Kreider, who has slipped to third in the Art Ross race with 33 goals, two behind leader Leon Draisaitl and one behind Auston Matthews. “When the pucks drop, obviously things change dramatically.
“I feel like I’ve played with one or two guys on every single team now. You’re still friends before the game, still friends after the game but you’re fighting tooth and nail during the game. I mean, I grew up with Garnet Hathaway, he’s on Washington, he’s one of my best buddies, and that’s a guy who does a really good job of putting things to the side and doing his job.
“The minute the puck’s dropped, your only friends out there are the guys out there wearing the same jersey as you. I think that’s what being a pro is all about, it’s being able to respect one another and converse with one another away from the ice but obviously doing your job and battling incredibly hard and being competitive when you’re playing that game.”
There has been none of the hype surrounding Wilson that dominated the lead-up to the Oct. 13 opener in Washington, which fizzled into a 5-1 disorderly defeat. It doesn’t seem that this has reached even the level of an afterthought on the eve of the clubs’ first meeting since the first night of the season.
“We haven’t talked about it once,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “I think there’s nothing. I really think there’s nothing.
“It’s another game against a team that’s a rival, a division opponent that’s a few points behind us and that’s what’s important. I don’t think there’s anything there [regarding Wilson].”
The Blueshirts are nestled in third place in the division, four points up with two games in hand on Washington. They are one point behind second-place Pittsburgh, the Penguins holding two games in hand, and five points behind first-place Carolina.
The Capitals, meanwhile, winners of three of their last four after enduring a 5-8-2 stretch, hold the first wild-card spot, four points behind the Rangers while having played two more games. The clubs will not meet again until the April 29 season finale at the Garden.
Other than home ice, finishing in the Metro’s top three eliminates the possibility of crossing over into the Atlantic as a wild card and drawing either Florida or Tampa Bay in the first round. A division championship would ensure home ice for the first two rounds. But all that is still a long way away for a Rangers team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since 2017. Hypothetical matchups seem to have about as much of the Rangers’ immediate attention as does Wilson.
“I want to win games to get points. I’m not really concerned with who you’re going to play in the playoffs, if you make the playoffs,” Gallant said. “I want to win games, I want to win the division. It’s a battle to do that.
“If we’re fortunate enough to the playoffs, we’re going to play a good team. I wouldn’t know which to pick [as an opponent] right now. Can I look at you and say, ‘This is a better matchup?’ I can’t say that.
“If you look at the eight teams that are in today, if that’s how it finishes, what team would you want to play? Seriously.”
Thursday, it’s the Capitals for the first time since Game 1. They are bringing Mr. Wilson with them.
Shhh.
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