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Kakko deemed ‘day-to-day’ with upper-body injury

Fournier's shooting woes one of just few preseaasons concerns

By MOLLIE WALKER

MONTREAL — The lineup obstacles just keep coming for the Rangers — but they certainly cleared the most recent one.

After starting the night without one of their top-six forwards, Ryan Strome, who is in COVID-19 protocol, the Rangers lost another when Kaapo Kakko sustained an undisclosed upper-body injury in the first period of Saturday night’s 3-1 win over the Canadiens at Bell Center.

Head coach Gerard Gallant didn’t have an immediate update on Kakko, saying the Finnish winger is “day-to-day.”

With Strome out, Filip Chytil was bumped from the third line to center the 1B unit, between Artemi Panarin and Kakko. The Rangers previously had recalled Greg McKegg from Hartford to center the third line between Sammy Blais and Barclay Goodrow, while Dryden Hunt, Kevin Rooney and Ryan Reaves made up the fourth line.

“It’s always tough when you lose a guy like Stromer,” Mika Zibanejad said. “He’s such a smart player and he obviously is a big part with [Artemi Panarin]. That’s tough. And when that happens, you have to have someone step up in that role and I thought everyone contributed. Obviously, losing Kap as well, you never want to lose any players and probably, especially those kind of players. It was a great effort by everyone, really.”

Blais was back in the lineup after missing the Rangers’ home opener against the Stars on Thursday with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

“It’s tough when you lose top players during the game, especially top players like Kaapo,” Gallant said. “But that’s part of the game and the guys dug in and dug down and other guys got a little bit more ice time.”

Chris Kreider scored his third goal in as many games Saturday, taking a feed from Zibanejad and putting it past Canadiens netminder Jake Allen at 9:59 of the second period on a power play.

The 30-year-old winger has three of the Rangers’ six goals so far this season.

Chytil logged 21:02 in his first crack at skating in the top six this season. He also won 6-of-11 faceoffs for a 54.5 win percentage from the dots.

“Any time I get a chance, I just play my best game,” Chytil said before the game. “Just use the minutes for my side and help the team.”

After the win, the Rangers traveled to Toronto and are scheduled to practice Sunday afternoon at Ford Performance Center. On Monday, the Blueshirts will square off with the Maple Leafs.

The Knicks staged a perfect 4-0 preseason, delighting their optimistic fan base. But their highest-paid offseason addition, Evan Fournier, didn’t have a perfect preseason.

Fournier struggled with his 3-point shot and still is attempting to get a feel for his new teammates. The 4-0 record glossed over the fact Fournier shot 35.5 percent — 30 percent from 3-point range — in the four exhibitions.

In the third quarter of the Knicks’ 115-113, buzzer-beating comeback victory Friday over the Wizards, Fournier drove the lane and had a clear path to the rim, but instead sent a hideous back-pass that was intercepted by Washington’s Kyle Kuzma. It led to a fast break hoop.

It was the lowlight of Fournier’s 3-for-8 performance, in which he shot 0-for-4 in the first half. He finished with eight points in 24:13 and was a minus-10.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau admitted Fournier, who signed a four-year deal worth up to $78 million in August, is still finding his way in a new landscape.

The Post reported in early September that Knicks general manager Scott Perry wanted to make a stronger exploration in courting free-agent shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, a former All-Star who wound up in Chicago.

“Yeah, yeah, [Fournier’s] too good of a shooter,’’ Thibodeau said of Fournier’s uneven preseason. “I thought Kemba [Walker] also was almost a little too unselfish. When the ball is coming to them, I want them to be who they are. I don’t want them trying to fit in and then they get themselves out of rhythm. I know they’re unselfish players by nature. Just be aggressive. Be who you are. When you have your shots, you take them, and that’s the way I want our whole team to play.”

Fournier and Walker sat out in the fourth quarter as the Knicks embarked on an impressive comeback from 15 points down. Walker was a minus-20 — defense is his cardinal sin. Walker allowed Wizards backup point guard Raul Neto to go off, netting 25 points (10-for-13).

Walker, meanwhile, notched 12 points and six assists in 19:27 but was 1-for-6 from 3-point land.

After the win over Washington, Thibodeau pointed out the starting group — with newcomers Walker and Fournier — is still behind the well-established second unit spearheaded by backup point guard extraordinaire Derrick Rose, who was a plus-20 versus Washington.

“We got in a hole early as a [starting] group,’’ Thibodeau said. “That’s a concern. It gives us a lot of things we have to work on. It’s a little choppy with guys in and out. They still got to build their rhythm together. Kemba, Evan, the starters all together ... they haven’t played a lot of games together. The second unit is further ahead because they’ve spent a lot of time together.

“Once we get everyone on the same page, we get Nerlens [Noel] back, we’ll have an opportunity to move forward.’’

The starting lineup for opening night Wednesday at the Garden against the Celtics is set — except at center. Noel missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury, forcing Taj Gibson into a starting role.

Though center Mitchell Robinson, in his return from surgery for a broken foot, played the preseason finale in a reserve role, his conditioning still is off.

The other four starters — Walker, Fournier, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle — are set in stone.

Barrett said the starting lineup needs more time to establish cohesion.

“The second unit played together all year last year,’’ Barrett said. “But everything takes time. We only had four games — three games with Kemba and didn’t have Julius for one. So we really only had two games together. We’re working it out. We’re working through it. But those guys [Walker, Fournier] are so easy to play with. They make the game a lot easier. We had a slow start, but don’t look too much into that.’’

The beauty of team president Leon Rose’s roster construction is the Knicks won’t need to rely heavily on Walker being his electric AllStar self as he comes back from major knee issues last season. Walker won’t have to play major minutes. Derrick Rose’s re-signing, meanwhile, is looking more critical.

Walker missed the game Wednesday against the Pistons to rest his body, with Thibodeau hinting he was nicked up.

“Having both of those guys, Kemba is a terrific player,’’ Thibodeau said Friday. “I was actually excited about him tonight. He missed some shots. But I know one thing about Kemba and what a competitor he is. So I feel good about. He’s still go to shake a little bit of rust off.’’

Indeed, Walker rested much of the offseason to heal. Asked what excited him about the former AllStar from The Bronx, Thibdodeau said: “I saw a little pop — which I liked. Look, I’m not worried about Kemba making shots. I know what he can do.’’

Mitchell Robinson said he’s ready to start at center for the Knicks in the season opener Wednesday against the Celtics.

But that remains up in the air as head coach Tom Thibodeau has to make a key decision on his starting center.

Robinson played Friday for the first time in nearly seven months, logging 27 minutes off the bench against the Wizards, and at times looking exhausted. Robinson collected nine rebounds — six on the offensive glass — but was 3-for-8 from the field.

“It wasn’t that bad, but it was bad,’’ Robinson said of his conditioning level.

Robinson said he needs to get his timing down again around the rim. He wasn’t the usual target of alley-oop lobs.

“I got to work on my finishing, get my touch back,’’ Robinson said. “That’s the main thing. Once I get my conditioning back — that’s the main thing — so I can play all day, I’ll be all right.

“I felt like tonight I rushed it instead of taking my time like I how it was before all this happened,’’ Robinson added.

A bulked-up Robinson, who broke his foot in late March and subsequently had surgery, flexed his muscles to the crowd after one hard dunk.

“I worked on my body all summer so I got to show it off,’’ Robinson said.

Thibodeau’s options to start at center include veteran Nerlens Noel, who missed all of training camp with a hamstring issue, and Taj Gibson, who started all four preseason games.

It has taken time for Thibodeau to warm up to Robinson. Sources suggest Robinson’s maturity level was an issue with Thibodeau. The Knicks coach, however, senses a shift.

“Just our conversations with him,’’ Thibodeau said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together. We talked a lot about games he played in last year, even in games he wasn’t in and what he saw. Just watching how he’s processing things, understanding his responsibility in schemes. There’s a lot of growth there. Just the way he practices and his concentration level, it’s much, much better.’’

After playing in the last couple of minutes of fourthquarter garbage time in the first three games, rookie first-round pick Quentin Grimes got his big look Friday, playing 21 minutes. Thibodeau liked what he saw on both ends. Though Grimes was just 2-for-6 from 3, he buried a huge one from the corner with 1:38 left to cut the Knicks’ deficit to two. Thibodeau said Grimes gave him “really good minutes.’’

“I think we found something, particularly with Quentin in there,’’ Thibodeau said.

Swingman Wayne Selden may have won the battle for the 15th roster slot, as the Knicks are waiving Clemson’s Aamir Simms and Florida State’s MJ Walker. Both are slated for the Westchester Knicks.

Thibodeau, however, said the club still will monitor who becomes “available’’ via the waiver wire.

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2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

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