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Rangers HC Peter Laviolette responds to Kaapo Kakko publicly venting frustration over healthy scratch
New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette responded to comments made by forward Kaapo Kakko after the latter's healthy scratch for the team's 3-2 loss against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.
Kakko voiced his frustration about the decision during the team's practice on Tuesday.
"I was surprised. I know we're losing games, but I think it's just easy to take the young guy and put him out. That's how I feel," Kakko said about being scratched.
Laviolette addressed Kakko's remarks and defended his decision to sit the young forward.
"I'll keep those messages between him and me. But I think it's okay to be frustrated. It's okay to be upset," Laviolette said.
Laviolette disagreed with Kakko's assessment of him targeting a young player rather than a veteran when deciding who to scratch. He said:
"There have been older players(Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey) that have sat out, as well.The decisions that I make, they're tough decisions. Our team, Kaapo – we need to play better. We're 3-10 in our last 13 games, and that's not good enough," the coach stated.
The Rangers have struggled mightily in recent weeks, losing 10 of their last 13 games to fall to 15-14-1 on the season. Kakko is back in the lineup Tuesday night as the Rangers face the Nashville Predators.
The Predators now lead 1-0 against New York at the end of the first period.
Peter Laviolette focused on getting Rangers back into the game
Peter Laviolette addressed questions about his job security after the team's recent struggles. Laviolette said he can't control conversations about his future with the team.
But the coach's main focus is getting the Rangers back on track and into playoff contention:
“My real concern – the main concern – is getting a win tonight, getting back on track, getting back into the playoff race. Those are the things that we need to control and stay focused on."
Regarding his decision to reduce ice time for Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider in the game against St. Louis, Laviolette said that was predetermined before the game, not an in-game adjustment.
He explained the ice time reduction was because the whole team needs to play better, not just singling out those two players.
“I do think that it was better the last game in St Louis compared to the game before, but still not good enough. And, so, there's got to be more from our team, in general – from the players you mentioned, from myself, from everybody.”
Laviolette stressed there needs to be more fight and effort from the entire team to turn things around and make a push to get back in the playoff race.
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