Rangers looking for a spot for Lafreniere
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) plays against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Credit: AP/Paul Sancya
GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Alexis Lafreniere sat out Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, but Rangers coach Gerard Gallant insisted it was a one-game thing, and promised the 20-year-old will be back in the lineup Saturday, when the Rangers host the Detroit Red Wings in a matinee matchup at Madison Square Garden.
The coach didn’t say where Lafreniere will be playing when he does get back in.
Kaapo Kakko scored two goals Wednesday and Gallant made a point, after the game, of saying that the third line of Kakko, Barclay Goodrow and Filip Chytil had been the Blueshirts’ best that night.
“That line was excellent,’’ Gallant said Friday of Goodrow-Chytil-Kakko. “I thought they were really consistent (and they) did a great job. So, ‘Laffy’ will be back in tomorrow. We'll see where he goes.’’
On Friday, Goodrow, Chytil and Kakko skated together at practice as the third line, while Lafreniere was rotating in on the fourth line, with Dryden Hunt, Kevin Rooney and Ryan Reaves.
Chytil, who returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing two games with an upper-body injury, was happy to be reunited with Kakko, who he’d played with for much of the past two seasons. The two hadn’t played on the same line this season before Wednesday.
“We didn't play a whole year together,’’ Chytil said of he and Kakko. “The last time (on the same line) was probably the end of the last season. (Wednesday) was a good game for us. (Kakko) scored two goals (and) I think we as a line we played a good game. We had a lot of offensive zone time and a lot of good chances. So we just have to build on this game, and play like it (against Detroit) or even better.’’
If Goodrow-Chytil-Kakko ends up being a line Gallant likes enough to stick with going into Game 1 of the playoffs, though, then where does that leave Lafreniere?
Figuring out where Lafreniere, the No. 1 pick overall in the 2020 draft, fits in the lineup has been a seasonlong puzzle for Gallant and his staff. Lafreniere plays left wing, the same position as Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider. So with those two entrenched in the top two lines, Lafreniere either has to switch to right wing or play on the third line.
He played right wing on the top line, with Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, for 20 consecutive games, until Gallant put newcomer Frank Vatrano in that spot on March 25 against Pittsburgh. That dropped Lafreniere to the third line.
But now, a night off in Philadelphia may have opened the door for Lafreniere, who has 15 goals and 10 assists in 72 games this season, to drop even further.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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