New York Rangers: Kaapo Kakko stars in 4-3 overtime win at Traverse City

Kaapo Kakko made his long awaited debut in a New York Rangers jersey as the Blueshirts won 4-3 in overtime.   He didn’t disappoint.

After missing the first two games of the NHL Prospect Tournament with an illness, top draft pick Kaapo Kakko made his New York Rangers debut.  Not only did he score the winning goal, he added three assists to have a hand in all four Ranger goals.

Ranger fans should be thrilled as Kakko lived up to the hype.  He was dominant when he had to be and displayed his offensive skillset that made him the second overall pick.  He wasn’t the only prospect to excel.  Vitali Kravtsov scored two power play goals in the third period and Adam Fox picked up his sixth point of the tournament with an assist on one of the goals.

To start the game, Rangers coach Kris Knoblauch loaded the top line.  He had 2019 second round pick Karl Henriksson centering for Kakko and Kravtsov who played on the off wing.   On the power play he had Jake Elmer on the wing and Kravtsov manning the left point.

The Rangers came from behind to twice in the third period to tie the score including the game tying goal with the goalie pulled. They won the game in overtime when the teams were playing three on three.

The game

The Wild was the more experienced team, with eight players who had played in last year’s tournament.  All of the Rangers in Traverse City are first timers.

The Rangers really didn’t get much going in the first period and established very little offensive zone presence as they had to kill two penalties.The Wild scored the only goal of the first period off a rebound that Igor Shesterkin had little chance to stop.

In the second period, the Wild added to the lead on a two on none off a turnover at the Ranger blue line.  The teams exchanged penalties with Ryan Dmowski taking minor penalties and Minnesota killing its only penalty off a hook on a Patrick Newell breakaway.

With 1:13 left in the second period the game turned completely around when Lewis Zerter-Gossage was hit and injured by Drake Pilon.  Drake and his twin brother Darian Pilon are tough players who had over 100 penalty minutes last season for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. The Wild announcers didn’t seem surprised when Drake was called for a five minute major and a match penalty for a hit to the head.

The Rangers were unable to score in the second period, but came out in the third period and quickly scored twice to tie the score in their 3:47 of man advantage.  Kravtsov scored the first goal on a rebound of a Kakko shot.  Minnesota goalie Hunter Jones made the stop, but the rebound came right to Kravtsov who had an empty net to shoot at.  The secondary assist went to Karl Henriksson.  The second power play goal was scored on a beautiful passing play from Adam Fox to Kakko to Kravtsov.

The tie didn’t last long as Minnesota went ahead on a Matvey Guskov goal.  Yet again, the Rangers were unable to clear the puck and the Wild kept it in at the blue line.  Guskov scored on a rebound.

The teams exchanged penalty kills and down 4-3, the Rangers pulled Shesterkin with just under two minutes left.   It didn’t take long for the Rangers to tie the game.  At 18:23, Kakko controlled the puck behind the net and sent a pass to the crowd in front.  Patrick Newell got his stick on the puck and put it past Jones.

The teams played three on three in overtime.  The first Ranger trio was Kakko, Nick Jones and Fox.  The second was Kravtsov, Henriksson and Tarmo Reunanen.  The third trio was Newell, Jake Elmer and Matthew Robertson.

When Kakko was on the ice he controlled play and maintained possession of the puck.  At 3:48 of overtime, Kakko scored the unassisted game winner circling the net twice and coming from behind the net to put a backhand past Jones, a goal that will make the highlight reels tonight.

The Rangers outshot the Wild 30-22 and finished the first part of the tournament with a 2-1 record.  After the game Kakko talked about his goal: