NEW YORK – In analyzing his underwhelming point total this season, Kaapo Kakko offered this blunt assessment.
“I feel I’ve been passing too much sometimes,” the Rangers’ forward said last week. “I need to shoot more.”
Validation came in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the Stars at Madison Square Garden.
Kakko ripped a top-shelf wrist shot into a tight window over Dallas goalie Scott Wedgewood’s right shoulder for his seventh goal of the season, four of which have come in the past nine games.
It turned out to the decisive tally in the Blueshirts’ victory over the first-place team in the Central Division while tying the 23-year-old’s career-high point streak at five games.
With that production has come an obvious uptick in confidence. Kakko’s been buzzing around recently and was particularly noticeable on Tuesday, whether that was protecting pucks in the offensive zone or tracking back hard on defense.
“This is the best he’s looked,” head coach Peter Laviolette said prior to the game. “To me, he’s moving his feet, he’s creating, he’s playing with some attitude and some edge out there. The line (with Jonny Brodzinski and Will Cuylle) has been good, but I think he’s a big part of driving that line. Since he’s been back from the (left-leg) injury, he just seems to be getting stronger and stronger inside of his game.”
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Eight-game win streak
Kakko isn’t the only one riding high lately.
The Rangers (37-16-3) have won a season-high eight straight and avoided falling into a letdown trap coming off Sunday’s epic 6-5 overtime win against the Islanders in the NHL Stadium Series.
They rode that momentum right into the matchup with the Stars and came out flying. They dished out 15 hits in the first period alone, including a few from giant rookies Adam Edström and Matt Rempe that riled up the MSG crowd, and created a few dangerous scoring chances.
The Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière line was at the center of a few of them − as they typically are − and helped create the goal that provided an early 1-0 lead.
It was scored by Adam Fox, who’s been catching fire with seven points (one goal and six assists) in his last three games, but wouldn’t have happened without Lafrenière battling in front to get Wedgewood out of position and Panarin sneaking around the backside of the net for the primary assist.
That score held until Kakko doubled the lead at the 8:23 mark in the second period, which was quickly followed by a power-play goal from Miro Heiskanen to cut Stars’ deficit to 2-1.
But that would be extent of the Dallas scoring.
Igor Shesterkin finishes strong
The Rangers allowed 42 shots, but limited their opponent to nine high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, according Natural Stat Trick. And when they did need a big save from Igor Shesterkin, they got it.
The 28-year-old goalie was under siege for long stretches Sunday against the Isles and had some shaky moments, particularly in the first period, but he was on point Tuesday with 41 saves. That included a waving high-glove save on Wyatt Johnston off the rush at the end of the second period and a few in the third while the Stars were making their push for the equalizer.
The most impressive came with 4:18 to play, when Tyler Seguin shook loose in front of the Rangers’ net and got off two point-blank shots from inside the crease. Shesterkin knocked down the first with his skate, then threw himself onto the ice and reached out his stick to stop the rebound attempt. The home crowd showed their appreciation by serenading him with chants of “I-gor! I-gor!” after whistles blew the play dead.
Trocheck finished off the evening with an empty-netter for his 19th goal of the season, resulting in Shesterkin’s fourth consecutive win while improving his overall record to 23-12-1.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Kakko, Shesterkin lead Rangers to 8th straight win
