Chris Kreider will not be in the lineup for the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Things somehow keep getting worse and worse for the New York Rangers.

Chris Kreider, a healthy scratch for the first time since John Tortorella’s reign behind the bench ended following 2012-13, is no victim.

The Rangers ruled out Chris Kreider for Sunday’s game against the Blackhawks and the forward is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

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.

Rangers forward Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch for the first time this season in Monday's 5-0 loss to the Devils.

Currently, we're in the middle of an NHL roster freeze. The New York Rangers are in the middle of a freeze themselves, but that one stops them from playing well