Kaapo Kakko played the most five-on-five minutes of any Rangers forward in Saturday’s 3-2, Game 1 defeat to the Hurricanes, his 12:51 clocking in at 65 seconds more than Artemi Panarin. So he was certainly not overlooked by David Quinn.
But here’s the thing: Despite the fact that Kakko was perhaps the team’s most consistently effective and assertive forward, the Finn did not get on the ice again after finishing his final shift with 3:29 remaining in the third period.
A Tony DeAngelo penalty at 16:58 surely was a factor, but the Blueshirts played with an extra attacker after pulling Henrik Lundqvist with 50 seconds remaining and down by a goal, and still Kakko did not get the call.
Neither did Filip Chytil, who’d been quite impressive himself throughout the third period in which he moved up to the second line with Kakko (who had replaced the injured Jesper Fast) and Panarin for a few turns and got 16:16 of time, including 3:51 on the power play.
“We have our six-on-five unit,” Quinn said when queried on the subject via Zoom following Sunday’s practice. “It’s what we wanted.”
The unit featured Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Strome and DeAngelo. They had been the go-to guys all year. But in Game 1, all but Zibanejad and Buchnevich, who was engaged and strong on and away from the puck, had been — at best — borderline dreadful throughout. The unit generated one long shot, one offensive-zone faceoff and no threat. That’s not what anyone wanted.
Listen, the coach made the point through summer camp that he was going to tango with the ones who brought his team to the dance. Fair enough. And perhaps fair enough regarding his Game 1 personnel decisions down the stretch. Panarin, Kreider and Strome performed above-and-beyond through the regular season and a decision to upset the apple cart 59 minutes into the postseason might have reeked of panic and it might have created undue issues within the room.
But the regular season ended on March 11 and can no longer be seen through the rearview mirror. A new season began on Saturday. The new season might be over by Tuesday if Quinn does not approach Monday’s Game 2 as if it is an elimination match. Which means the coach must go with the hot hands, not those who might have been hot in January or February.
Did. Anyone. See. Chris?
The eight Rangers getting their first taste of playoff hockey (semantics aside, that’s what it is) handled the experience with divergent success. Ryan Lindgren, for instance, appeared entirely within his element. Adam Fox, on the other hand, might have played his worst game in a Rangers uniform. Kakko, Chytil, Brett Howden and Julien Gauthier all impressed. DeAngelo did not, but he’s playing through a physical issue that may well have impacted his play, so there’s that.
But while the Blueshirts were rocked early — Brady Skjei was always good for the type of open-ice hit he laid on Jesper Fast 32 seconds into the match — and were discombobulated much of the time, the kids generally responded well. Key veterans up front were MIA.
The point here is not to flay Panarin, the Hart Trophy finalist who has had so few games of this caliber in a Ranger uniform, you have to believe it was an aberration. Of course, the Russian Rockette was an apparition through nearly all of summer camp and the exhibition outing, so, kind of now is the time for No. 10.
The point isn’t to flay Kreider, who made his bones in the playoffs just off the Boston College campus eight years ago. Nor is it to flog Strome, who had an excellent season partnering with Panarin and may have had an excuse for his afternoon after being popped on the beak and bloodied by Justin Williams in an early first-period fight. They need to be much better and surely know it.
The Rangers could get almost nothing going on the rush Saturday. They could not escape the forecheck. They could not create space. But Kakko managed to do that and so did Chytil. Yet they were on the bench when the game was on the line. Again: understandable within context. No coach can gain — or keep — respect by throwing his vets overboard at the first sign of trouble.
But this is a best-of-five, the Rangers don’t have much time to find their game, and Quinn doesn’t have any more time for patience and to honor the past. When the puck drops for Game 2, it will be about now and what are you doing for the team, lately?
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Rangers can't afford another David Quinn mistake like this - New York Post
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