The Rangers were among the more fortunate clubs in the NHL when it comes to losing players to the COVID protocol list, with only Kaapo Kakko being sidelined ahead of Saturday’s game in Washington for that reason.
But Kakko, who missed the Feb. 1 game against the Penguins after registering a false positive on a test, was back on the list and thus unavailable for the 4-1 win over the Capitals.
“This happened this morning, so we haven’t had a chance to talk yet,” said coach David Quinn after the game. Obviously, you worry every time someone is placed on this list, so we’ll talk here shortly to see how they feel.
“From what I understand there are no symptoms yet, so I will know a lot more later.”
Of course, according to competition rules, Quinn is not allowed to disclose what he is learning. It’s up to Kakko, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age, to reveal details if desired.
Filip Chytil has been on the COVID-19 list since the beginning of the week while remaining on the injured reserve. Chtyil, who has missed 11 straights since sustaining an unidentified upper body injury in Pittsburgh on Jan. 24, was skating before joining the list. It is not known how much, if at all, affects his return date. The Rangers originally predicted the 21-year-old center would miss four to six weeks.
The Blueshirts destroyed all four of the Capitals’ powerplays, including one on which Mika Zibanejad scored an empty net at 5:48 PM of the third period with a 6v4 situation. Rangers, who allowed just three shots in 8:00 of shorthand work, killed 31 of the last 32 man benefits they encountered in the past nine games.
In total, the club killed 52 of 60 for a score of 86.7, placing it third in the league after the game.
Ryan Strome scored both a goal and an assist. The goal was the 100th of his NHL career, while the assist was his 100th as a Ranger. That made him the first player to ever hit the milestone of the century in points with both the Blueshirts and the Islanders.
“I knew that and it was actually quite interesting,” said Strome, who was chosen fifth by the islanders in 2011, a spot before senators drafted Zibanejad. “I never thought when called up nearly 10 years ago that I would have 100 points with both the Islanders and the Rangers, given the hatred of that rivalry.
“It’s a cool performance, not that it’s the way I thought it would end, but I’m happy to be a Ranger, my time here has been pretty good, and I got here to 100 a lot faster than with the islanders. , so that’s a card under my belt that I’ll be happy with. “
Strome, who went 45-81 = 126 in 258 games over four seasons with the Islanders before being traded to Edmonton for Jordan Eberle, has gone 41-60 = 101 in 149 games for the Blueshirts since being acquired from the Oilers in return for Ryan Spooner.
The Blueshirts won in dots 32 out of 56, including Zibanejad’s 15-for-23. Strome won 6 of 11.
The Rangers have put a limited number of tickets on general sale for their next three home games, on February 26, February 28 and March 2, for between $ 50 and $ 345. Attendance for these games is limited to nearly 2,000, with all customers must adhere to COVID-19 protocols containing proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the match.