New York Rangers: Lack of hustle, other takeaways from Buffalo loss

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 07: Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 07, 2020 in New York City. The Sabres defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

2. Kakko shows out

Arguably the best player on the ice for the New York Rangers on Friday was rookie Kaapo Kakko.

The Finnish phenom finished with one point and four shots on goal in 14:29 minutes of total ice time, keeping in mind that the wing was entrenched on the fourth line for most of the game.

Kakko’s assist came on the power play as he directed a Mika Zibanejad pass into the path of Chris Kreider, who did the rest.

It was the rookie’s 18th point (seven goals, 11 assists) of the year in what has been an up and down first season in North America for the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

However, Kakko’s expansive performance in the third period did leave everyone with a feeling of what if, given that the forward spent most of the game playing fourth-line minutes.

Granted, you could argue that Kakko was more motivated to excel in the third period after being given more of an opportunity to impress, but maybe that chance should have come a lot earlier.

After all, it wasn’t like the Rangers offense was buzzing all game and they desperately needed a spark in the opening two periods after struggling to get anything going.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but, the saving grace from Friday can be the fact that Kakko flashed glimpses of the potential we all know he has in abundance.

If he can carve out a strong finish to the regular season then it should set up Kaapo Kakko for a strong sophomore season.

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