Lunchtime game against the up and coming red wings who just shut out carolina at home. Have to come out strong and not take them for granted. Don’t know if Laf is out again but Vince is reporting he was out of the 4 line rotation again in practice. Rangers have a ton of decisions coming up shortly with the logjam at LW and their 2 best forward prospects coming up Othmann and cuyyle LW Also. I think more and more strome is allowed to walk. Kreids not going anywhere but I wonder if rangers get the right offer for panerin (young center) they entertain it now and open up some cap space which will be very tight next year.
Kakko down again this time with some kind of leg injury. If it’s serious we may need kravtsov back so we don’t have hunt in the top 9 again!
What a friggin highlight goal by Laf to give rangers a 4-0 lead to tie for first again. That was a Laf jr’s goal!
For all the Lafreniere doesn't play on PP1, and his development is being hurt, I just don't see it. Kid has 17 goals in his 2nd season, and over his two years on the team he has the most even strength goals on the team. Kid will be a stud IMO starting next season. I am not as sure about Kakko who gets hurt a lot, and has played in the top 6 a good bit, and hasn't produced enough IMO. At some point he needs to step up, and that isn't on either of the coaches he has played for as a Ranger. By no means is this a closed book situation at his age of course, just means he needs to start taking his game to the next level, and that is on him I think. Hopefully he'll be able to play in the playoffs after his latest injury today. I want to see what he does in that situation.
What a priceless response...funny. Sounds like it may not be too serious with Kakko - that's potential good news: “Lower body– I don’t think it’s too serious,” Gerard Gallant updated. “We’re being cautious and I’ll know more tomorrow.”
I said that about KK last year that i had doubts about what he will ultimately be. I think he will be a consistent 50-60 pt guy but not some perennial AS like you'd expect from a #2. The injuries aren't helping of course.
Like I wrote, he will be a stud starting next year. And scoring 17-18 goals this year, and leading the team in even strength goals the past two seasons doesn't equal Quinn and Gallant stunting his growth. It isn't oh he doesn't play on PP1, that means they are stunting him. That is small minded. Where is Kakko scoring 17-18 goals? But let's blame Quinn and Gallant for him underproducing in his career thus far. Kakko needs to stay healthy, and get stronger and shoot more IMO. Overall I think Lafreniere is a stud next season. I think Kakko will be very good if he gets stronger on his skates before next season. Still have very high hopes for both, and we have a bright future. BTW - at this point no shot I re-sign Strome. Re-sign Copp instead, who does so much more, and let Strome go.
No one can argue that putting Laf or Kakko on the PP would not have resulted in more goals/assists for them. Obviously it would have and maybe they would be a little more well rounded skills-wise. But there was no rush to put them out there. The Rangers had (have) one of the most effective PPs in the league...I don't know that having either of those two players on PP1 would have made the PP any more effective. HOWEVER...come playoff time it is a totally different game. You're playing against the same team and they will figure out how to neutralize the top players. The Rangers are totally front loaded with their scoring and it's mainly because of the PP. If the Rangers PP1 (as currently constructed) gets shut down in the playoffs they are going to need secondary players to score. Thankfully, Drury added a couple guys who can take some of the pressure off Kreider, Zibanejad and Panarin with Copp and Vatrano. It's going to be those guys, Laf, Chytil and Kakko (if healthy) that are going to help the Rangers make a deep playoff run.
There's little you should be complaining about when it comes to this year's team. 104 points and tied for first with six games to play. Who ever expected that?
