Respected Rooney cements lineup spot
Morgan Barron, currently with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford, best captured the essence of Kevin Rooney earlier this season, when the 22-yearold was asked if he was frustrated starting the season in the minors.
“You look at someone like Kevin Rooney, it took him quite a while in his career compared to some of these first-round picks who were able to jump right in,” Barron said. “But he just kept going down and put his head down and went to work. Now, he’s someone who’s in the lineup every night and is able to contribute.
“He’s just one of the guys in the dressing room that I can look at, who’s done it the right way.”
Since he left the Devils as a free agent to sign a two-year deal with the Rangers in October 2020, Rooney has played his way into a consistent role in the lineup. Rooney, who played in 54 of the Rangers’ 56 games in the 2020-21 shortened schedule, has appeared in all 19 contests this season, but his recent offensive prowess has only further secured his spot in the lineup.
Following his two-goal performance in the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Islanders on Wednesday night, Rooney is now the second-highest scorer on the team with five goals. He has provided strong forechecking and contributed on the scoresheet. Rooney also has proven himself as one of the Rangers’ top penalty killers.
“I think [my confidence] kind of where I left off last season,” he said. “I ended up getting lucky to go to the World Championships [with Team USA], and I really focused on my faceoffs when I went there, and I had some strong numbers over there. I tried to just continue it in this season to bring different elements to this team because we’ve got a lot of skill and just trying to bring grit and sandpaper to our team.”
➤ The Rangers skated during practice Thursday in the same lines as they used against the Islanders. Kaapo Kakko remained on the 1A line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Dryden Hunt also continued to skate alongside Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome .… The Rangers’ game at Boston on Friday afternoon will be their eighth in the past nine seasons on the day after Thanksgiving.