Kaapo Kakko has been playing on the wing since joining the Rangers in the 2019-20 season, but on Thursday night at Scotiabank Saddledome, he found himself centering the third line in the second period of a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames.
In an effort to spark his team, which was down 2-0 and struggling against the Flames, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette opted to shorten the lineup to three lines, moving Kakko from right wing to center between Will Cuylle and Jimmy Vesey.
“We dropped down to three lines to find some rhythm,” Laviolette explained after the game. “It’s not about taking someone out, it’s about injecting more energy into the game. So, we moved Kakko to the middle.”
Kakko took over as third-line center from Jonny Brodzinski, who only played two shifts in the second period’s second half and three short ones in the third. This was Brodzinski’s third consecutive game filling in for the injured Filip Chytil.
The switch paid off quickly. After Alexis Lafreniere scored the Rangers’ first goal at 16:37 of the second period, Kakko won an offensive-zone face-off that directly led to Cuylle’s game-tying goal off a deflection at 16:53.
Kakko won six of nine face-offs and recorded one shot on goal in just 9:35 of ice time, nearly four minutes less than his usual playing time.
“He played center before joining the NHL, so he has experience there,” Laviolette said. “He’s strong in the face-off circle. They created a goal to tie the game, so I thought he did well.”
“He played center before coming to the NHL, so he has experience there,” Laviolette said. “He’s strong in the face-off circle, and they helped create a goal to tie the game. Overall, I thought he did well.”
Rangers considered using Kaapo Kakko at center previously
Cuylle, Kakko, and Vesey were on the ice when Connor Zary scored the game-winner midway through the third period. So, the move to center for Kakko wasn’t entirely successful.
Kakko struggled to gain position on Zary, who raced into the left circle and fired a shot over Igor Shesterkin’s shoulder, despite Kakko attempting to lean on him, at 10:35.
With Kakko playing center for just over three minutes of 5v5 time, the Rangers posted a poor 17.45 percent xGF percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick. However, this was still better than the 4:51 of 5v5 time that Cuylle, Brodzinski, and Kakko shared, where their xGF dropped to a dismal 1.98 percent. During that stretch, they were out-shot 6-1 and out-chanced 5-0.
“He had gotten a shift or two before in the middle,” Laviolette said. “It was something we had discussed, and if the opportunity came up, we decided to try it tonight.”
The Rangers are optimistic that Filip Chytil will be back in the lineup soon. The 25-year-old joined the team in Calgary and skated with the extras after Thursday’s morning skate. A specialist in New York confirmed that Chytil did not suffer a concussion in his collision with teammate K’Andre Miller last week.
The Rangers will finish their four-game road trip on Saturday in Edmonton against the Oilers.
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