After extended absences, Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney returned to the Rangers’ lineup just in time to help the club clinch a playoff berth with a 5-1 win Saturday night over the Senators.
The forwards were activated off injured reserve and will now have 10 regular-season contests to get back into game shape. Kakko was sidelined the previous 31 games with a suspected wrist injury. Rooney was also out with an undisclosed upper-body injury, missing 18 games.
While Rooney slotted back into his usual fourth-line center post between Dryden Hunt and Ryan Reaves, Kakko joined the third unit alongside Alexis Lafreniere and Barclay Goodrow, who lined up in the middle in place of an injured Filip Chytil. Rooney ultimately finished with two shots on goal and two hits in 15:27 in the victory.
Kakko had been playing on the right wing of the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad in the weeks leading up to his injury, but trade-deadline acquisition Frank Vatrano has found success in that spot.
Kakko, who didn’t register a single shot on goal in 13:01 Saturday, is also an option for the right-wing slot next to Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome on the second line. Another new addition, Andrew Copp, has been developing chemistry with the Bread-and-Butter duo.
“Each game that he’s been playing over the course that he’s been here with us, I think you’ve seen more confidence — better with the puck, better without the puck — and I think he works really hard,” Zibanejad said of Kakko. “That’s something that you can always control. You can’t always control the bounces and the puck luck and stuff like that, or if it goes in or not. But I think that’s the one thing that you can control, and I feel like he’s been he’s been getting that more and more.
“We’ve been talking about that with the other young guys, too, just becoming more of a pro and doing the little things that matter. That’s something I’ve been seeing from him. It’s not easy to be gone for that long, but I’m sure he’s excited to be back.”
In the 37 games he played before his injury, Kakko collected five goals and nine assists. Kakko could get a look in the top six again sometime over the final stretch of the regular season, but the Finnish winger has played a lot of minutes next to Lafreniere and could do well with the familiarity.
“He’s just grown,” coach Gerard Gallant said of Kakko. “He’s taken another step. He’s trying to be a man. He controls the puck, he’s good down low. We want him to score more and take another step there, but he’s been hurt for eight or nine weeks now. We’ll see where it goes. It might take him a little bit of time here, but I know he’s in good shape and he’s excited to play.”
Veteran defenseman Patrik Nemeth was scratched in favor of Justin Braun, who lined up alongside Braden Schneider on the third defensive pair. … Ryan Reaves drew back into the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch in the previous two games, replacing Jonny Brodzinski on the fourth line.