Kakko scores first two points of season, Rangers top Devils in shootout

NEW YORK --Kaapo Kakko had a goal and an assist, his first points of the season for the New York Rangers in a 4-3 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

"It feels good," Kakko said. "A big win always feels good. I got huge chances last game, so I knew it's going to come, and today was the day. The first goal is sometimes the hardest after 10 games."
Chris Kreider scored in the seventh round of the shootout to give the Rangers their third straight victory in their first shootout of the season.
"To be honest with you, he was hiding at the end of the bench," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "'Kreids' is great. He's a confident player right now."
Pavel Zacha tied it 3-3 for the Devils at 17:16 of the third period, scoring on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
"I think we showed we can come back," Zacha said. "We lost in a shootout when we could have won, too, so it's something that we have to learn from and move on to the next game."

Adam Fox and
Alexis Lafreniere
scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves for the Rangers (9-3-3), who swept a back to back after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 on Saturday.
Georgiev stopped Tomas Tatar in the sixth round and Zacha in the seventh prior to Kreider's winner in the tiebreaker.
"It was a pretty good atmosphere and we were running on adrenaline, so I just had to make the save, that's my job," Georgiev said. "The guys were so clutch. It's nice to get rewarded."
Zacha and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist for the Devils (7-4-3).
"It was obviously a really competitive game and my first time playing in this rink, so that was pretty cool," Devils rookie Dawson Mercer said. "It was a back-and-forth game. We would have liked a different outcome, but we battled, got that late goal."

Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood was injured when Kakko scored to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 6:29 of the third period. Blackwood entered into concussion protocol at 8:38 after allowing three goals on 33 shots. Jonathan Bernier made eight saves in relief, including five in overtime.
"I have no update," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "Bernier made several good saves for us when he came in; it's not easy coming in at that time of game."
Said Mercer, "We saw [Blackwood]; didn't really see exactly what happened at the moment. Then when you saw the replay, I think he got a bump up high there and he obviously had to go out and get it checked out.
"It was nothing we could change. Bernier goes in and gives us a good showing and we just kept battling. You got to forget about that and keep playing the game."
Bratt gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead on a breakaway at 15:23 of the first period.
Fox scored on a backhand from the slot to tie it 1-1 at 3:11 of the second period.

Lafreniere gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead when he jammed in a loose puck along the goal line at 11:24, four seconds after a power play ended. Kakko had an assist, his first point of the season.
"[Kakko's] been squeezing the stick a lot," Gallant said. "He had a couple of chances to get points in the two prior games and one goal was waved off. The kid played great tonight. He looked like a beast out there. I'm real happy for him. The kids are trying and working hard."
Dougie Hamilton tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal on a wrist shot just inside the blue line at 13:20.
NOTES: Gallant had no update on Rangers forward Sammy Blais, who sustained an undisclosed injury after falling awkwardly into the boards in the Devils end 3:53 into the third period. ... Fox, who played a game-high 28:08 and took six shots, has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 13 career games against the Devils. … Kakko played his 11th game of the season. He scored 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 48 games last season. … Rangers forward Ryan Strome had an assist, his 200th in the NHL. … Bratt (two goals, four assists) and Mercer (two goals, four assists) each have a four-game point streak. … The Devils were playing the second of a back to back. They lost to the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Saturday.