Filip Chytil-Kaapo Kakko-Phillip DiGiuseppe Kid Line has breakthrough

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — For weeks, the guys on the Rangers’ Kid Line: Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, and whichever left wing they teamed with — Brett Howden, Brendan Lemieux, Phillip DiGiuseppe — have been talking about how well they have been playing, even if they didn’t have tons of goals and points to show for it.

“We have a lot of chances; we’re making a lot of plays. But just put it in, right?’’ Chytil said last week. “We’re working on it.’’

Kakko, the No. 2 pick overall in last summer’s NHL Draft, put one in Sunday in the final game of the homestand before the Rangers flew here to start a three-game road trip Tuesday night against the Jets. The goal was Kakko’s first in 14 games, and second in 33, and turned out to be the game-winner in the Rangers’ 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. And the Rangers certainly hope it will open the door for Kakko, who will turn 19 on Thursday, to score lots more goals in the coming weeks.

But that goal wasn’t just about Kakko. Chytil, the 2017 first-round pick who started the season in the AHL with Hartford, did the most work to create the goal. And DiGiuseppe, the 26-year-old, 2012 second round pick by Carolina who signed with the Rangers last summer as a free agent, was a contributor in the play as well. Chytil won a battle on the boards behind the net and worked the puck around to the left wing, where DiGiuseppe won a battle to get it back to Chytil. Chytil then sent a perfect, backhand pass to the slot to a wide-open Kakko, who finished it.

For DiGiuseppe, who has impressed with his speed and hustle since being called up from Hartford Super Bowl Sunday, it was his first point as a Ranger. For Chytil, it was his first of two assists in the game, and he believes the goal could be a springboard for he, Kakko and DiGiuseppe — or whoever their left wing is on a given night — to take off.

“Every goal gives us confidence and that was perfect,’’ Chytil said. “And we helped the team, right? When you score a goal, you help the team. And on the other side of the page, we played good hockey . . . and we handled the details well. And I think that’s why we scored the two goals.’’

The second was Tony DeAngelo’s empty-netter, on which Chytil earned an assist.

The 20-year-old Chytil entered Tuesday with 12 goals — one more than he scored as a rookie last season — and he admitted that getting his 12th goal, in the 5-3 win over Toronto last Wednesday, was satisfying.

“I didn’t try to think about it, but when I scored the 11th goal [Jan. 11 in St. Louis], I tried to pass that,’’ he said. “Because you always want to be better, right? You always want to pass your result from the year before.’’

Chytil’s numbers (12 goals, 8 assists in 45 games entering Tuesday) project him to finish with 19 goals, which would be an impressive step up in his second season, especially considering he spent the first month in the minor leagues. Twenty goals is a possibility, but he said he isn’t setting his sights on that.

“I’m going to just play my game and go with it — do what I can do,’’ he said. “But if I can play the right way, do the things that I’m doing this season, I believe I can score a lot of goals. So, just focusing on my game is everything. And If I score 20, or 15, I’ll see. But I want to score as many goals as I can.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.