DALLAS — It was a coming-out party for Kaapo Kakko, and it came at a very opportune time.
The Rangers got the second two-goal game of the 19-year-old’s career as they started their pivotal three-game trip with a 4-2 victory over the Stars on Tuesday night.
Kakko was taken with the No. 2-overall pick in the draft in June, and he had not scored a goal since Feb. 9, and that was the only goal on his ledger since Jan. 4.
But with Igor Shesterkin rediscovering his form in nets after a dud in the 6-4 loss to the Devils on Saturday night at the Garden — the first game back for Shesterkin after he missed two weeks with a broken rib suffered in a car crash last month — the Rangers (37-28-4) were able to get themselves out of a rut.
The Blueshirts had gone 1-4-0 over their previous five — starting when Chris Kreider broke his foot in Philadelphia on Feb. 28 — and beating the falling Stars (37-24-8), got them back to within striking distance of the East’s second wild card.
Either way, it had been clear to the Blueshirts that they needed to play better if they wanted to keep pace in the race.
“For the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job, but it’s the consistency aspect that has kind of eluded us over these last four or five games,” coach David Quinn said before puck drop.
After the first period, the Rangers were without center Filip Chytil, who suffered a lower-body injury and did not return. But by the start of the third, Kakko already had his two goals and the Rangers were up, 4-0.
Yet the first shutout of Shesterkin’s career remained elusive, as Roope Hintz scored a power-play goal 1:23 into the third to make it 4-1. The Stars kept coming, and Andrew Cogliano buried a loose puck with 8:08 remaining in regulation to make it 4-2.
But the Rangers were able to kill a late penalty on Brendan Smith, as well as the final two minutes with Dallas goalie Ben Bishop on the bench for the extra attacker — finishing up a good performance by starting this trip on the right foot.
There had been a lot of emphasis on this road trip, as it goes to Colorado for the second leg of a back-to-back Wednesday night, then, after a couple days off, finishes up in Arizona on Saturday. But with Shesterkin showing signs of stability early on — after giving up five goals on 23 shots against the Devils on Saturday before being replaced by Henrik Lundqvist at the start of the third period — there was a renewed calm from the crease out.
“When you miss that much hockey, you expect a little bit of rust,” Quinn had said about Shesterkin’s layoff. “As we’ve all talked about, we have a good feel for what he’s all about as a goalie and a competitor.”
Shesterkin got some help right away when Adam Fox scored just 19 seconds into the game, walking into the slot and beating Bishop stick-side for a 1-0 lead. The lead was doubled at 10:12 when Mika Zibanejad stayed red-hot, finishing a nice setup from Brendan Lemieux to make it 2-0. It was Zibanejad’s 40th goal of the season in his 56th game, the fastest any Ranger has reached that plateau (one game quicker than Jean Ratelle in 1971-72).
Then came the first big moment for Kakko, getting a great feed from Brett Howden off the left wall for an open one-timer from the slot, going in at 7:03 of the second and giving his team a 3-0 lead. The excitement for Kakko from the bench was palpable, as the grind of the season has worn on the talented Finn. He has just eight goals through his first 64 NHL games.
But by the time the second period ended, he had 10 — finishing a backhand into a gaping net after a slick feed from Zibanejad at 17:18, allowing his team to take a commanding 4-0 lead into the third.
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March 10, 2020 at 08:31PM
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Kaapo Kakko's two-goal night propels Rangers to key win over Stars - New York Post
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