Per Vince Mercogliano, both Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney are skating on their own, and eyeing an early April return. A Kakko return to the top nine really solidifies the scoring depth, while Rooney would help get more depth to the fourth line.
Gallant also confirmed that Kakko and Rooney have been skating on their own to make sure that their conditioning is in a good place and they can jump right back in once they’re ready to return. They’re hoping for early April. #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) March 25, 2022
The Rangers just came off their most dominating performance of a playoff team all season, and their reinforcements have rounded out the lineup depth. It is safe to assume that Kakko will return to either the second line with Strome and Panarin, or the newly reunited Lafreniere-Chytil duo on the third line. Either way, Barclay Goodrow likely gets bumped to the fourth line.
With both returning, we will likely see the end of Jonny Brodzinski and Dryden Hunt as regulars in the starting lineup. Both have played well, and are going to be good depth options should other injuries arise.
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