The forward played 5:06 before leaving in the first period of a 4-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, his fourth game back after missing 31 because of an upper-body injury. Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said following the game he did not think the injury was serious.
"The only tough part about this one is Kakko was playing really well," Gallant said Monday. "He just got back from missing eight weeks. I think he had three or four games there and his last game he had two goals against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 13
was moved from the fourth line to the third line at left wing with Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow.
New York also is without forward Tyler Motte because of an upper-body injury. Forward Sammy Blais has been out with a torn ACL sustained in a 4-3 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 14 that required surgery. The Rangers said he would need 6-8 months to recover, putting his earliest possible return in mid-May.
"We've been pretty fortunate with injuries this year compared to some of the other teams," Gallant said. "You get a guy here, a guy there, besides Sammy Blais obviously. But for the most part we've been pretty fortunate with injuries and we've got a lot of guys around."
