Rangers' Kaapo Kakko seems likely to be out long-term
Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko looks on against the Lightning in the third period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden Jan. 2. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Adam Fox was back on the ice when the Rangers returned to practice Friday, but Kaapo Kakko was not, and coach Gerard Gallant said it will be some time before Kakko is seen in uniform again.
"He's gonna be out for a while,’’ Gallant said after the Rangers’ first practice since they played their last game Feb. 1. "Probably at least a month.’’
The Finnish forward, who will turn 21 on Sunday, last played on Jan. 21 in the Rangers’ 6-3 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. He took warmups the next night, when the Rangers faced the Arizona Coyotes at Madison Square Garden, but he was a late scratch and did not play.
After the game, Gallant announced that Kakko would be out on a day-to-day basis with an upper-body injury. He was placed on the injured reserve list the next day and missed the team’s last six games before the All-Star break.
Gallant would not answer the question of whether Kakko either has had or will need any type of surgery, and he completely dodged the question of whether the injury is at all related to the upper-body injury the 6-3, 205-pounder suffered in an Oct. 16 game in Montreal that caused him to miss four games.
The coach did say the injury was something that had been nagging Kakko for about a week before he was scratched from the Arizona game.
Kakko’s absence for an extended period likely means Alexis Lafreniere, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, will continue to get a chance to play on the top forward line with center Mika Zibanejad and All-Star left wing Chris Kreider, whose 33 goals this season were tied with the Oilers' Leon Draisaitl for the league lead entering play Friday.
Kakko, a right wing, had been on that line. Lafreniere, a natural left wing, had played with Kreider and Zibanejad in the last two games before the break and scored a goal in each game.
Fox likely to play
Fox, who was taken off injured reserve Thursday (he was out with an upper-body injury), practiced wearing orange socks rather than blue ones that would have matched his jersey. That indicated he was practicing in a no-contact situation. The entire practice was all about skating and drills, however, and there was no contact at all. Gallant said Fox looked good and "we expect him to be ready to play.’’ The Rangers’ next game is Tuesday against Boston.
Blue chips
Forward Filip Chytil, who missed the last five games before the break with a lower-body injury, also practiced.
"He's just coming back, and hopefully he's at full strength,’’ Gallant said. "He skated really good today and we'll take it one day at a time. But I see him getting real close, if he's not ready now. He skated hard today.’’ . . . D Patrik Nemeth, who missed the last four games before the break because of a personal issue, practiced . . . The Rangers called up F Morgan Barron from AHL Hartford.
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.
