Kaapo Kakko let out a deep breath.
Thinking about how he felt when he had to leave in the first period of the Rangers’ shutout victory over the Red Wings on April 16, just over a week after he finally returned to the lineup after missing 31 straight games. with a different injury. Kakko couldn’t hide his frustration from him.
His initial reaction, which Kakko described before the Rangers faced the Canadiens in their penultimate game of the regular season on Wednesday night at the Garden, was unsurprising.
“I thought, ‘Again, I need to watch the games,’” said Kakko, who will play for the first time since April 9 on Wednesday. “But only four games, so I’m happy to be back.”
However, all Kakko seems to care about is that he was able to bounce back in time for the playoffs. Considering the fact that the regular season will conclude at the end of this week, it’s safe to say the Rangers feel the same way.
So, Kakko will have two matchups to get back in shape, integrate into the lineup and ramp up his individual game before the schedule flips to May on Sunday and the Rangers find out who their first-round opponent will be. Kakko seemed grateful that he had at least two games to do it.
When asked if he was starting to feel comfortable again before the second injury occurred, Kakko said yes.
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“Yes, I feel better,” he said. “The first couple of games weren’t that good. But I think the game against Philly, a couple of goals, that helps a lot. I think I played well and then in the fourth game, I only played a couple of minutes, but I feel like I played better.”
Kakko was back in the back row alongside Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil on Wednesday night. Despite suffering two separate injuries, the first a suspected wrist injury before landing awkwardly on his right leg to sustain the second, the Finn winger does not plan to play cautiously.
Instead, Kakko aims to go full throttle and get a real feel for the game before the postseason.
“It’s not that easy,” Kakko said of how the last three months have been. “But it’s hockey. That [happens] sometimes. It’s not that easy, 30 games, you’re just looking. You can still work out in the gym and be ready for the games when you can play again, watch the games and learn at the same time. There are some good things too. I knew I could still play this year, so that was a good thing.”
Gerard Gallant hinted that he plans to rest some regulars for the last two games, but the head coach will also be cautious. He expects Kakko to stay in the lineup for Friday’s matchup with the Capitals unless there’s some sort of hiccup or communication from the 21-year-old that he’s not 100 percent ready.
“It’s important, but it’s not important,” Gallant said of giving Kakko two games. “The reason it’s important to him is because he missed a lot of time, he just got back. He’s ready to go, he’s fine.
“I probably could have played [Tuesday against the Hurricanes]but we didn’t want to play him consecutively from the beginning”.
Reference-nypost.com