By: Mike Rifkin
Despite being down 2-1 in their First Round series to the Pittsburgh Penguins there are some positives for the New York Rangers. One of the biggest positives has been the play of the young players. One of the major discussions prior to the series was the lack of experience with the Rangers vs the Penguins plethora of experience.
The line of Filip Chytil, Kappo Kakko, and Alexis Lafreniere scored a goal in game three and generated a ton of good chances in the series. In game one they thought they had scored a go ahead goal late in the third period when Kakko made a strong move to the net and passed it to Chytil who scored but it was taken off the board due to goaltender interference. That line has 16 shots in three games. Kakko in particular has looked really solid in the first three games.
On the Blue line K’Andre Miller has had a really good series with two assists and is a +4 in the three games. Miller, the only Ranger who played in all 82 games had seven goals and 23 points. Miller and his partner Jacob Trouba have become a very good second pair for the Rangers. But Miller has really taken the next step as a very good defenseman and in this series has been matched up at times against Sidney Crosby.
Head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters on Sunday about the kids “ We’ve talked about experience and all, (but) the way they’re playing, it hasn’t affected them one bit in these first three games. … The growth of those players is really satisfying for me.” Throughout the season you saw growth with all of these players. Miller, Kakko, and Lafreniere in particular participated in their first full 82 game season. Kakko did miss time due to injury but at times you saw Kakko play with more confidence. Lafreniere at times played with a lot of confidence and at one point was playing on the top line. Now whether the Rangers win this series or not this is a valuable learning experience for the players.
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