One thing about the New York Rangers is they usually don’t make it easy. While there may be the occasional 9-0 laugher, there are too many games like the one they played against the Sabres on Monday. Five minutes into the second period, they were losing 1-0 to the worst team in the NHL and the fanbase was nearly hysterical.
There was one subtle change in the lineup and it paid off immediately. Kaapo Kakko found himself playing on the right side of Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin and the newly formed line scored to restore sanity to the Rangers universe.
They took a 3-1 lead into the third period and allowed two quick goals by the Sabres (cue the hysteria), but the power play came through and the Rangers escaped with a 5-3 win.
Kris Knoblauch has been bending over backwards to acknowledge that he is following David Quinn’s game. He said that they had discussed juggling the lines to get Kakko more ice time, “We actually planned this before the game, giving him some extra ice time when the opportunity arises…but ultimately it was mostly Kaapo. His play made determined us making that switch, he deserved it.” Still, it had to be Knoblauch’s call to make that change and he did it at the right time.
Kakko was also on the ice in the waning moments and was able to score the empty net goal. Keeping Kakko on the ice in that situation was something that has rarely, if ever happened when Quinn was behind the bench.
Despite the difficulties in getting past the Sabres, there were a number of positive takeaways from this game. The power play won the game for the Blueshirts on two goals from Chris Kreider. Keith Kinkaid made some game saving saves in the first two periods. Adam Fox was spectacular in his 100th NHL game. Artemi Panarin had three assists. Kakko broke a long goal-less schneid with two scores.
The Rangers have now gotten points in five of their last six games including four wins. They are two points behind fifth place Philadelphia and four points out of a playoff spot. They have three tough road games coming up against the Flyers and Capitals. This is the stretch of games that will tell the tale of this Rangers’ season.
Here is a full video recap of the game.