When Kaapo Kakko returned on Jan. 14 for the New York Rangers, he was immediately put on the first line by coach Peter Laviolette. It’s where he started the season.

The Rangers are banking on Kakko to improve his play by producing. In his second game back, since missing 21 games with a lower-body injury, he scored a goal in a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, Jan. 16.

For Kakko, his goal that came in the second period was a positive for the Rangers who won their second game in a row. Despite being largely outplayed by the Kraken in a middle stanza that saw the visitors hold a 16-10 edge in shots, it was the Rangers who got the only two goals to extend their lead to 4-1.

Shesterkin The Difference

They can thank Igor Shesterkin for that. When the Kraken upped their offensive attack, it was the Rangers’ starting netminder who made the biggest difference. He was at his best turning away more than half Seattle’s 31 shots in the second period. He made 29 saves to earn his second straight victory.

That’s two consecutive starts where Shesterkin was sharp. The former Vezina winner has stopped 53 of 56 shots to highlight the pair of Rangers’ wins. Undoubtedly, they need him to continue his improvement in the second half of the season.

When he’s dialed in, the 28-year-old Shesterkin is one of the game’s best goaltenders. That hasn’t been the case for most of this season. It’s important for him to continue to find that level. When he’s consistently making key saves, that fuels the team’s confidence.

There still were too many quality scoring chances that he had to handle. Despite the outcome, the Rangers weren’t particularly good defensively. They left the slot open for some of the Kraken’s opportunities. It’s a good thing Shesterkin bailed his teammates out. They needed it. Otherwise, the game could’ve been different.

Trocheck Connects on the Power Play

Following a first power play that produced no shots on Kraken backup goalie Chris Driedger, the Rangers were rewarded another one due to Justin Schultz firing a puck over the glass for a delay of game minor.

On what was a great play off the rush, Vincent Trocheck connected on the power play. He was the beneficiary of a wonderful no-look pass from linemate Artemi Panarin to slam home his 14th goal of the season at 8:22 of the first period.

After Adam Fox made a nice outlet for Panarin, he carried the puck over the Kraken blue line and then looked away from a cutting Trocheck. By freezing the Kraken’s penalty killers, it allowed him enough time to make a perfect feed into Trocheck’s wheelhouse for a power-play goal that gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived. After Barclay Goodrow took an undisciplined roughing minor during a scrum, Trocheck made a rare mistake on the penalty kill that allowed Jordan Eberle to tie it up with 9:19 remaining.

Trocheck’s turnover led to a three-on-one for the Kraken. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jared McCann combined to get the puck to Eberle, who beat Shesterkin with a wrist shot in the slot to draw Seattle even.

Gustafsson gets it Right Back

On the next shift, Chris Kreider forced a pass for Mika Zibanejad that took a favorable bounce off a Kraken player. Erik Gustafsson then quickly picked up the puck and fired a shot by Driedger to get it right back.

His unassisted tally came just 28 seconds after Eberle had tied the game. It was Gustafsson’s first goal since Nov. 3. Having struggled recently, he had his best game of the new calendar year. Gustafsson was more noticeable offensively and played well defensively. He finished the game with his fourth goal and a plus-two rating in 14:01.

Both Gustafsson and defensive partner Braden Schneider had good games. Schneider would later pick up a secondary assist on a Blake Wheeler goal that proved to be the game-winner.

Wheeler Snaps Goal Drought

With Shesterkin delivering timely saves during a stronger second period for the Kraken, that allowed the Rangers to be opportunistic offensively.

A player who’d struggled lately is Wheeler. The veteran snapped an 11-game goal drought by tipping in a Jonny Brodzinski shot to put the Rangers ahead by two with 7:28 left in the second period. At the time the goal was scored, it was a rare instance when the Rangers spent some time in the Kraken zone.

Wheeler’s goal was a big momentum swing. The Kraken had controlled most of the play. Even after it, the Rangers left Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak wide open for a high shot that didn’t connect. At the time, MSG analyst Joe Micheletti observed that it didn’t feel like a 3-1 game. He was correct.

Kakko Increases the Lead

With less than three minutes left in the second period, Kakko increased the lead to 4-1 when he got open in the slot and buried a backhand feed from Zibanejad to score his first goal since Nov. 20.

On a play started by Kreider in transition, he made a good pass up for Zibanejad, who easily skated into the Kraken zone. He then found an isolated Kakko open for a quick one-timer that beat Driedger to give the Rangers a three-goal lead headed to the third period.

That gave the Rangers some cushion to work with. Most importantly, it had to be a confidence boost for Kakko. He’d struggled during his first 21 games before the injury kept him out for almost two months. In his first two games back, he’s played well. They need him to.

McCann Scores Late for Kraken

With the Rangers protecting a three-goal lead in the third period, K’Andre Miller took down Eeli Tolvanen to put the Kraken on the power play. That led to McCann scoring late for the Kraken to make it 4-2.

On what was a play in transition, Schultz got the puck up to Eberle, who then fed McCann. For some inexplicable reason, he was allowed to drive to the net without any resistance and score on a backhand for the Kraken’s second power-play goal of the night.

The Rangers usually do a better job on the penalty kill. If there’s one area that was frustrating, it was their failure to kill both Kraken power plays. They went 2-for-2.

Wheeler Seals It

Despite the Kraken lifting Driedger for an extra attacker, the Rangers were able to finish off the game. Wheeler sealed it by scoring into a vacated net with 2:38 remaining. Both Zibanejad and Fox picked up their second assists of the game.

The Rangers limited Seattle to seven shots in the final period. The victory moved them four ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division.

Blueshirts Head Out West

Next up for the Blueshirts is a trip out West. They will have four games on the West Coast starting on Thursday, Jan. 18 at the Vegas Golden Knights. There’ll be a back-to-back this weekend at the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 20-21. They’ll conclude the road swing at the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 23.