Rangers Experiment With Kaapo Kakko At Center

During the New York Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night, Peter Laviolette experimented with Kaapo Kakko.

Midway through the game, Laviolette decided to put Kakko at center and the gamble actually seemed to pay off.

Kakko showed off his skills at the face-off circle where he was extremely effective and made a significant impact.

It was Kakko’s face-off win that led to Will Cuylle’s goal in the second period to tie the score at 2-2.

This was not a rash decision to put Kakko at center. Laviolette always had this plan in the back of his mind and he finally put it into fruition on Thursday night.

“We talked about it,” Laviolette said about putting Kaapo at center. “He got a shift or two before in the middle. It was just something we talked about if the opportunity presented itself. We went with it tonight.”

Laviolette was impressed with what he saw from Kaako during his brief amount of time down the middle.

“He played center prior to getting to the NHL. He has center experience. He is pretty good in the face-off circle, they produced a goal for us to tie the game, so I thought he did good.”

Don’t expect to see Kakko at center on a regular basis, but in certain situations when the Rangers decide to play with a shortened bench, we could see the young forward in this role.