Rangers offense gains ‘balance’ and ‘depth’ with third-line success

If the New York Rangers are going to be a more complete team this season, even better than the one which captured the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24, they’ll need more production from their bottom-six forwards.

In 2023-24, the Rangers were top-heavy, powered by the Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafreniere line, where all three forwards established NHL career highs in points. Then there was Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider — who scored 39 goals, helping make the top six a real handful for the opposition.

But scoring was scarce in the bottom six. The lack of production from the third line in particular was a major issue.

Filip Chytil’s injury woes — he played only 10 regular-season games because of an upper-body injury believed to be a concussion — was a big part of that. But Kaapo Kakko scored only 13 goals in 61 games and finished with 19 points.

As such, Kakko is facing pressure to prove his value to a loaded offensive lineup in this, his sixth, NHL season. The 23-year-old was drafted by the Rangers with the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has struggled to establish a clear role with the team since, largely because he has not lived up to expectations offensively.

Injuries, offensive slumps, and COVID-impacted seasons have reduced Kakko’s effect. Last season, he missed 21 games with a knee injury, though that doesn’t explain all of his scoring issues. He scored just one goal in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games and was scratched in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers.

After signing a one-year, $2.4 million contract early this offseason, Kakko showed up to camp ready to put last season behind him. He’s off to a solid start in the preseason, playing right wing on a line with Chytil and Will Cuylle.

The trio accumulated almost 90 percent of the five-on-five expected goal share in a 5-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday. Kakko was a big part of that, contributing seven shots on goal in nearly 16 minutes of ice time.

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Rangers coach Peter Laviolette had conversations with Kakko following his disappointing 2023-24 season, and the two laid out a plan for the offseason with the expectation that Kakko would come to camp in good shape and with a better mindset. If this third preseason game showcased anything, it’s that Kakko has taken the opportunity seriously. He looked energized and was actively involved in the play every time he was on the ice.

His linemates were equally as effective. Chytil helped drive the offense again in his third straight preseason game, and Cuylle had five hits and a good scoring opportunity off the rush. Chytil has two goals and two assists so far in the preseason.

Despite not ending up on the score sheet, Laviolette noticed the third line’s impact saying he thought that line “was really good …To be able to have that balance and that depth somewhere in your top nine, wherever it pans out, can make it a really dangerous hockey team.”

The Rangers have three more preseason games, two against the New Jersey Devils and another matchup with the New York Islanders, before the regular season starts on Oct. 9 on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kakko and Co. appear to be in a good place to impact the Rangers moving forward, first in the preseason, then when the puck drops for real in Pittsburgh.

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