Chris Kreider seems to be getting a hang of this hero thing.

Just a week after playing hero in the New York Rangers’ opening series against Ottawa, Kreider again came up big in the second round, scoring the defacto game-winner in Game One against the Washington Capitals. The rookie who played in just the sixth NHL game of his life heard his name chanted after scoring in the third period Saturday.

“It was a surreal experience. I got goose bumps obviously,” Kreider said after the game. “I was really tired after the goal but didn’t feel so tired when they started chanting.”

The Rangers look to jump out to a huge advantange against the Caps Monday night as the teams square off for Game Two.

Hart trophy candidate Henrik Lundqvist was his usual brilliant self, holding Washington to just one goal despite not getting much help offensively early in the first game. New York only had eight shots in the first two periods before breaking through in the third.

In doing so, Lundqvist became only the third goaltender in team history with 20 playoff victories.

”We have to be a lot more desperate,” forward Joel Ward told the Associated Press. ”They didn’t get a whole lot of chances, either, so that is a positive we take out of it.

”(Lundqvist) is a good goalie, but he is human. They block a lot of shots and obviously he’s a great goalie, a Vezina candidate, but if we apply enough pressure at least you give yourself a chance. The only way to score is to get pucks on net.”

The Rangers put two goals past Washington’s Braden Holtby on shots that could have been defended.

“Obviously I wasn’t real happy with it. It was a tough game, mentally wise, and I didn’t do a good enough job,” he said. “Just crucial parts of the game. Those goals in the third, those are goals that I’d like to have back.”

Washington is no stranger to this position, though. It lost the series opener against the Boston Bruins and stormed back to win the series in seven games.

”We’ve got to go out right away and play our best game,” forward Marcus Johansson told the AP. ”We can’t wait for anything to happen. We have to go out and make something happen – get a good start, get a good feeling and take it from there.”

Bovada is favoring the Rangers by 1 1/2 goals with a -155 moneyline.