There was Mika Zibanejad, captain without the letter, marveling at the cool and composure of Kaapo Kakko, the 18 – year-old Finn who’d just finished his first NHL game.
“It looks to me like he doesn’t get nervous,” No. 93 told The Post after theBlueshirts’ 6-4 opening night victory over the Jetsat the Garden. “I don’t know, his age, his first game, he just seemed so calm and composed. He always seems that way.
“The way he carries himself, his self-esteem is high in an appropriate way. I’m just looking forward to watching him and playing with him as his career goes forward. ”
Kakko, the second-overall selection in the June entry draft after New Jersey tabbed Jack Hughes, never looked out of place even if he, as every one of his teammates, was at one time or another in a hot mess of a game in which the Rangers yielded glorious chances aplenty through the first 50 minutes before buckling down.
He got 15: 51 of ice time that included 2: 19 on the power play, sending three shots on net while taking four attempts. After dipping his toe in the water for much of the first period, he began to show more of his stuff in the second, controlling shifts with the puck on his stick, shooting when he had an open lane while taking the puck to the net when the opportunity presented.
“That’s my game. I like to do that, ”Kakko said. “Hopefully I can score next time.”
Listen, there are pockmarks all over this one. The Blueshirts yielded what seemed like a couple of dozen glorious scoring chances to Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, who combined for three goals, 13 shots on Henrik Lundqvist among 17 attempts. The Rangers had trouble with speed, Brady Skjei had trouble, period, and there were mistakes aplenty.
Oh, after one game, we can point this out: Lias Andersson, centering the fourth line, played a sum of 8: 33, least on the club, got two shifts worth 1: 29 in the third period and did not get off the bench for the final 13: 11. David Quinn last week said he didn’t necessarily think it would be beneficial to put any of his young centers in that type of fourth-line situation, and the coach was probably right. Yet here we are already.
But look. Kakko, the Ice Man, was making his NHL debut and so was Adam Fox. Jacob Trouba and Artemi Panarin both made their Ranger debuts. So nerves obviously had an impact on the structure of the game. But even within chaos, the Rangers found a way to get the two points.
That is because the Blueshirts, who coughed up tying goals within 30 seconds and 10 seconds, respectively, after taking 2-1 and 3-2 leads before falling behind 4-3 early in the third period, persevered. Zibanejad took a lovely headman feed from Trouba, burst through, and beat Connor Hellebuyck on a backhand at 5: 04 to tie it before Brett Howden went to the net and banged home a loose puck for a 5-4 lead at 15: 51. Brendan Smith put it away with an empty-netter while the Rangers were short-handed.
Five-on-six was a problem last season. Four-on-six? No problem at all for the 2019 – 20 Rangers.
“There were some nerves and we were a little sloppy,” Zibanejad said. “Last year we lost this kind of game. Hopefully this starts a trend for this season. ”
The Rangers surrendered 47 shots, continuing a trend from last season that must be reversed. But they did have some firepower out there that allowed the team to overcome its transgressions. For this night, the result was dispositive.
And there is reason to be positive about Kakko, who received a loud ovation from the crowd that had been thirsting to get a look at him since the moment the Rangers landed that second pick in the draft lottery conducted on April 9.
“That was such a good feeling,” said the Finn, covered by multiple media outlets from his home country. “It was so nice. I was so excited before the game. I was a little bit nervous. ”
He could have fooled Zibanejad and he could have fooled the 18, 000 – plus.
“He looks pretty stoic,” Quinn said. “He doesn’t show a lot of emotion. I don’t think he gets nervous, to be honest.
“With Kaapo, even if he’s not great on certain nights, he’s not going to be bad. That makes him a pro. I don’t think he’s going to have bad nights. I think ‘OK’ is going to be his ‘bad.’ And if that’s the case, he’s going to have a hell of a career. ”
It was a good start to it, that’s for sure. A good start to the season for the Rangers, too.
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