NEW YORK -- When the New York Rangers selected Chris Kreider with the 19th pick in the 2009 draft, stardom was expected.Entering his fourth NHL season, the left wing may be beginning to live up to the projections.Hes a power forward who is playing to his strengths, New York coach Alain Vigneault said after Kreider had a goal and an assist for the third straight game as the Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks 7-4 on Monday night.Hes tough to handle right now, whether on the initial rush or down low in the oppositions end. He makes it real challenging for the other team.Kreider, who signed a four-year, $18.5 million contract on July 22, has three goals and three assists in New Yorks first three games. According to the team, he is the first Ranger since Brian Leetch in 1992-93 to tally six points in New Yorks first three games. He also became the first New York forward to record six points in three games to start a season since Bernie Nicholls and Darren Turcotte in 1990-91.You want to play instinctually, Kreider said. You simplify your game; you get back to the stuff you know you do well. A lot of time that adversity helps you focus. From there, lock in on what you do well and do on a consistent basis.Kreider was one of seven Rangers to score, along with Marc Staal, Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes, rookie Jimmy Vesey, Mats Zuccarello and Michael Grabner. Twelve Rangers finished with at least one point, led by Zuccarello, who recorded a goal and two assists.New York has won two of its first three games this season.Im hoping were going to get better, Vigneault said. If youre going to get into the playoffs you have to be one of those teams that continues to improve. Some teams improve. Some teams dont improve and fade away. We need to be one of those teams that continues to improve.Tied 1-1 early in the second period, New York took the lead for good on Nashs first of the season 4:15 of the period. The sequence began when Rangers captain Ryan McDonaghs shot ricocheted off the end boards to Nash, who was in front of Martin Jones net.Jones finished with 22 saves.The lead grew to 3-1 6:06 later when Kreiders off-wing drive ticked off Jones stick and into the net.New York was 1 for 3 on the power play, and San Jose was 1 for 4.We are finding our way, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said of his specialty units. I probably like our penalty kill better than our power play.Staals one-timer 12:06 into the game put the Rangers ahead 1-0.Following Staals goal, though, the Sharks outshot the Rangers 7-2 for the remainder of the period, culminated by Logan Coutures 5-on-3 power-play tap-in with 57.5 seconds left.San Jose, which lost for the first time in three games this season, cut the deficit to 3-2 on Brent Burns second of the season at 9:13 of the third.We had it early, then we didnt, said San Jose captain Joe Pavelski, who finished with a goal and three assists. We were chasing it a little bit too much.New York struck back quickly as Hayes and Vesey scored 21 seconds apart to push the lead to 5-2. The goals were the first of the season for both, and for Vesey, the first of his NHL career. The Rangers signed the Hobey Baker Award winner from Harvard to a two-year, free agent contract on Aug. 19.It was definitely just pure joy, Vesey said. I just couldnt be happier to get that one out of the way.Im really happy to get that one.The tack-on goals were significant as Burns scored his second of the game 1:20 after Vesey scored, followed by Pavelskis first of the season at 15:31.Despite watching his team score three third-period goals, DeBoer wasnt enthralled with the Sharks performance.We got what we deserved, DeBoer said. The team that competed the hardest won and thats the way it should be.Zuccarello and Grabner added empty net goals.New York goaltender Antti Raanta made 26 saves on 30 shots.Game notes New York played without D Dan Girardi and D Kevin Klein, along with rookie LW Pavel Buchnevich, due to injuries. Before the morning skate, the Rangers announced Girardi was day-to-day with a strained groin and Buchnevich had back spasms. Klein has missed the first three games of the season with back spasms. ... San Jose scratched D Dylan DeMelo, and C Ryan Carpenter and C Micheal Haley. . Saturday Night Live actor Michael Che was among the announced 18,006 in attendance.UP NEXT:SHARKS: visit Brooklyn on Tuesday night for a game against the New York Islanders.RANGERS: host Detroit in a nationally televised game Wednesday night. Wholesale Custom Vikings Shirts . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Cheap Custom Vikings Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. http://www.customvikingsjersey.com/ .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Custom Vikings Jerseys . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Custom Vikings Jersey China . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. SYDNEY -- Fans came to catch a glimpse of American hot shot Jordan Spieth yet they were treated to a peak at the future of Australian golf as amateur Curtis Luck took a share of the lead midway through the opening round of the Australian Open at Royal Sydney.The 20-year-old west Australian shot a five-under round in the company of Spieth and Aussie veteran Geoff Ogilvy, Luck firing seven birdies and just two bogeys in an excellent start to his campaign.Spieths round could have been better, but the American was left to lament a poor flop shot on hole No. 8 and admitted he was still adjusting to putting on the Poa annua grass greens.I really like the design of this golf course, its a fun, kind of classic course to play, Spieth said.These Poa annua greens are just getting a little bit into my head, but as the week picks up and it becomes more difficult to hold greens in regulation I like where Im at.Having received a fortunate bounce on hole No. 7 that gave him a shot at eagle, a putt he lipped out and settled for birdie, Spieth then saw just how quickly Royal Sydney could also play the demon after his tee shot at the driveable No. 8 skipped through the green.But the American was more upset about the duffed flop shot that followed, that led to an untimely bogey, and promised to keep attacking the shorter par-fours for the rest of the week.I was actually very pleased with the tee shot there [on No. 8], so IIll just look at it as; I found something on four today.dddddddddddd..in my driving, Spieth said.I was much more patient into what I was working on the last few weeks and I kept through it there on No. 8 and hit it too good. If I mishit it I probably make birdie there instead.So Im not upset about that, what Im upset about is the execution of the flop shot which is normally a strength of mine around the greens.Luck, meanwhile, showed no signs of nerves and opened his day with a birdie on No. 10.The amateur, who twice qualified for the Masters next season with wins at the US Amateur and the Asia-Pacific Amateur, looked relaxed throughout his round and hit some superb wedge shots that often saw him inside both Spieth and Ogilvy.Yeah plenty, Luck said when asked if hed had fun. Fortunately I had two great playing partners in Geoff and Jordan and they made it a lot of fun for me and obviously I played quite well.So yeah it was quite enjoyable out there today.Ogilvy finished at -2 after having several putts burn the edges on the slick Royal Sydney Greens.Lucas Herbert was the other early leader on Thursday after a blemish-free five-under 67.The highest-ranked Aussie in the field, Adam Scott, and Aaron Baddeley went out in the afternoon wave with?the breeze beginning to strengthen. ' ' '