Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko always likes to keep things simple when talking about his game.
Then, in discussing how he achieved his first goals since January 22, the first month of the season, in the Blueshirts’ 5-3 victory over the Sabers on Monday night, the 20-year-old said he was back in the second line alongside Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome.
“I was playing with Breadman and Strome, so they can keep the record, I just go to the network and they can find me,” he said. “That was my job [Monday night]. “
Acting coach Kris Knoblauch said he chose to replace Colin Blackwell with Kakko on the second row at 7:07 am on the second for a number of reasons, but mainly because of how the Finn has played recently. It certainly worked, as Kakko converted six seconds later to tie the game 1-1 at 7:13.
Panarin kicked off the Rangers tie game, sending a great feed to Kakko in front of the Sabers’ net to No. 24 to jam home. It was Panarin’s first performance with three assists. Kakko then scored an empty net goal in the final minute of the game to ensure victory.
Kakko admitted that it was good to get back on the scoreboard after spending the last eight games without scoring. But after his fight against the coronavirus last month, it took Kakko some time to get back into shape.
“I stayed 10 days on the ice, so it’s always difficult, but I think I feel better now,” he said.
Brett Howden was added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list on Monday, joining Phil Di Giuseppe, resulting in the second scratch from the center of the 2020-21 season and his career at Rangers.
For his part, Knoblauch added Julien Gauthier back to the team after the striker was scratched in the last three games. Gauthier went one-two at night at 7:04 am on the ice.
The Rangers have announced that the full COVID-19 vaccination test – 14 days after receiving a second dose of Pfizer / Moderna or a dose of Johnson & Johnson – will be accepted for entry to games at Madison Square Garden starting April 1.
Fans can still show negative PCR or antigen results on arrival.
Rangers hope Igor Shesterkin, who suffered a groin strain earlier this month, will make his first game in Philadelphia on Thursday. In the meantime, Keith Kinkaid made his second consecutive start and his fourth in the past six Monday.
Kinkaid stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced in his first consecutive wins of the season.
“This is a group decision, [head coach David Quinn] and [goaltending coach Benoit Allaire] mainly and then getting my thoughts, but in the end that’s Quinn’s final decision, ”said Knoblauch before the victory. “I think Keith played very well, very sharp, I saw him twice in Hartford and he was upside down. We just feel that he deserved it, deserved it. “
Shesterkin, who has not been available since March 4, skated again on Monday morning, as he had been doing for the past few days.