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The Rangers’ already front-loaded lineup has only gotten more lopsided now that top-six staple Kaapo Kakko will be absent for an extended period with an undisclosed upper-body injury. He missed the last six games before the All-Star break and now is expected to be sidelined for at least another month.
It’s not a new situation for the Rangers, who have relied on production from the top two lines this season. But since Kakko has been the only young forward able to maintain a top-six spot (he has skated there in all but one game this season), the winger’s absence has made the Rangers’ need for more depth up front more pressing.
So until team president and general manager Chris Drury addresses it, head coach Gerard Gallant really only has a few options who are somewhat familiar with that right-wing spot on the second line next to Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. As of Saturday afternoon, Barclay Goodrow is apparently the frontrunner to fill the void. He skated in that spot in four of the past five games before the two-week lull in games.
“It’s based on our roster, more than anything,” Gallant said after practice at MSG Training Center. “I’m seeing who’s in, who’s out, you know? I like [Goodrow] anywhere. He plays good anywhere. When he played with Stromer and Bread a little bit, he had real good success there, some offensive points, they had a real good three or four games together.
“When Dryden Hunt plays up there, too, he brings some forechecking to that.”
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Hunt is another option, as is Filip Chytil. Goodrow’s grinding style of play is probably the best available option to pair with Panarin and Strome, at the moment. That trio has logged 71:55 of ice time together, according to Natural Stat Trick, recording five goals and 18 high-danger scoring chances.
But with Goodrow in the top six, the Rangers run the risk of a significant drop-off in production from the second line to the third and fourth lines. Between elite goaltending and a strong special-teams game, however, Gallant noted the Rangers have been able to afford not getting as much offense from the bottom six.
Asked if having a top-heavy lineup would dictate his coaching decisions, Gallant said some nights it would and others it wouldn’t.
“Just depends what the score is and who’s playing well,” he said. “If somebody is standing out and you want to get them more ice time, like when the big guys are going real well and you’re losing by a goal or something like that, you double them up more. We can do that more. That’s the good thing about some of the games coming up, we’ve had a good break and I like to play four lines, everybody knows.
“Sometimes when the big guys want to get a little bit more ice time, you get them going out there, they feel a lot better, they get excited with that. You rotate the third and fourth line in.”
While the right flank of the second unit may still be up in the air, Alexis Lafreniere appears to be staying on the top line next to Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Lafreniere skated in that spot in the last three games before the break and scored a goal in each of the final two contests.
Zibanejad said he feels Lafreniere has grown a lot as a player, citing his increased work ethic this season. In terms of building chemistry with the 2020 first-overall pick, Zibanejad said the more reps he takes with Lafreniere the more their familiarity will be able to translate onto the ice.
“The trust is definitely there, I think just a comfort level of understanding each other’s game is coming more and more as you play,” Zibanejad said. “I think the more time we get together that’s going to grow as well.”
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