Kakko clicking with Panarin line
It wasn’t always the case, but Kaapo Kakko has morphed into a player who complements Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome on the Rangers’ 1B line. With Strome’s knack for slick passes and Panarin’s ability to jump-start rushes, Kakko is now making a conscious effort to get to the net and finish the play. The brewing chemistry was on full display in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Capitals, when Panarin intercepted a pass and found Strome, who fed Kakko in front of the crease for the game-tying goal at 4:10 of the third period. “I feel good playing with those guys,” said Kakko, who now has five goals this season. “We are playing a lot and we are getting chances and spending time in the offensive zone. So that’s good, I feel good.”
The Panarin-Strome-Kakko line had a team-high plus-three rating in the win, with Panarin picking up a goal and two assists. But it seems that the line’s potential has been unlocked with the way Kakko has focused on his net-front presence and being in the right spots when his linemates are on the rush.
“He’s doing a lot of good things, boy, he’s really grown up in a short period of time,” head coach David Quinn said. “I think he got run pretty hard by [Capitals forward Garnet] Hathaway and just to shake it off and continue to play the way he did, going to the net more. He was a key component in two goals, obviously his goal, but I think the next one when he went to the net and drew a defender with him to create space and we get the [Adam] Fox goal. Those are two big plays by him at key times and it’s a lot of fun watching a guy grow the way he has.”
➤ Adam Fox has drawn a lot of comparison to Rangers legend Brian Leetch throughout his short NHL career, but now the second-year defenseman has actually achieved a shared feat.
With the game-winning goal at 6:32 of the third period, his first game-winner of the season, Fox became the first Rangers defenseman with 30 points in the first 35 games since Leetch did it in 2000-01. He is just the third defenseman in franchise history who has tallied at least 20 points in one calendar month, again joining Leetch — who did it five times — and
BradPark.
“A lot of things have been said about him and rightfully so,” Quinn said. “But this guy’s an elite player in this league. I thought he was last year. I know people were talking an awful lot about [Cale] Makar and [Quinn] Hughes and guys like that, but this guy is special.”