Cometh the hour, cometh the man. With the game on the line for the New York Rangers, Kaapo Kakko delivered the biggest moment of his young career so far against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
On what was another exhilarating night of action at Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers were given a tantalizing glimpse of what it is like to have a generational talent on the roster.
Because, with the spotlight firmly on his young shoulders, Kakko proved in one breathtaking performance why he was taken with the No.2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and why he’s projected to morph into a star in the NHL.
All of the very elite players in the National Hockey League, Connor McDavid for the Edmonton Oilers, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, have that ability to change a game in an instant.
And that’s exactly what Kakko did against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, who were ironically without their own star in Crosby, who missed out with a lower-body injury.
Sent on a breakaway thanks to a pinpoint pass from Brendan Lemieux, Kakko pulled off some filthy moves before going to his backhand to beat Matt Murray, with the backhand move rapidly becoming a specialty of the rookie’s.
The Rangers had outshot the Penguins 11-8 in the first period and they took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission break after Adam Fox took a delicious cross-ice pass from Artemi Panarin in the circle, before wristing a shot past Murray.
It was a milestone moment for Panarin of sorts who tied a career-high after extending his points streak to nine games, with the Russian stud truly flourishing in a Blueshirts jersey.
Pittsburgh, as you would expect, did come back strong in the second period even without Crosby, with goals from defenseman Justin Schultz and forward Jared McCann making it a tied game.
Similar to the thriller against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, the Rangers had allowed themselves to engage in a game of run and gun with their guests, who had outshot the Blueshirts in the final two periods.
But, unlike that painful ending to the Panthers, the Rangers flipped the narrative this time round and they had two faces of their bright future to thank.
After Adam Fox had taken the puck off the stick of Evgeni Malkin inside the Rangers’ defensive zone before getting the puck back from Kaapo Kakko, Fox charged up the ice with 2:41 of Overtime remaining.
Aware Kakko was behind him, Fox dished a no-look pass to his fellow rookie in the sweet spot and Kakko was able to redirect the feed beyond Matt Murray in the Pittsburgh goal for the game-winner.
It was a stunning moment in the present and also a flash forward to the future in terms of what Rangers fans can expect to see from both Fox and Kakko.
And it was also a big win for the New York Rangers who have now earned at least one point in six of their last seven games and in eight of their last 10 contests.
So, without further hesitation, let’s dive into our three biggest takeaways from the Rangers’ impressive success over the Pittsburgh Penguins, starting with the man of the hour…