Kakko scratched in inexplicable lineup shuffle

TAMPA, Fla. — Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant noted, just before his team’s season ended with a

2-1 loss to the Lightning in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, that there’s a fine line to walk when considering lineup changes at this point in the postseason.

But Gallant made some significant adjustments on Saturday at Amalie Arena.

Kaapo Kakko was scratched for the first time this season, with Dryden Hunt drawing into the lineup for the first time since Game 3 of the first round against the Penguins.

“I’m not gonna talk about it,” Gallant said sternly, after he also declined to tell ESPN’s rinkside reporter, Emily Kaplan, the reason for the change during a midgame interview. “Tonight’s not the time.”

The decision to scratch Kakko, who was the Rangers’ second-overall pick in 2019, was peculiar, especially since Ryan Strome was clearly playing through the lower-body injury that forced him to leave midway through Game 3 and sidelined him in Game 4.

Strome left in the middle of warmups before Game 6, then returned and eventually suited up. He then stayed in the locker room after the second period. If Kakko was healthy, going with Hunt and an injured Strome over the Finnish winger was a head-scratching choice.

Strome is set to become an unrestricted free agent and may have played his last game in a Rangers jersey.

Alexis Lafreniere was bumped to the left wing of the top line, next to Mika Zibanejad and Frank Vatrano. Chris Kreider was dropped to flank the third line, alongside Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow. The second line of Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Andrew Copp remained intact, and the fourth line consisted of Tyler Motte, Kevin Rooney and Hunt.

But Gallant then reverted to the usual line combinations that the Rangers have used for a majority of the season early in the second period. ➤ Lightning center Brayden Point did not play despite being considered a game-time decision for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 7 of the first round against the Maple Leafs.