Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Larry Brooks believes that Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere need to use their strong performances from last game as springboards to take their game to the next level (NY Post)
• Colin Stephenson hears that in spite of Artemiy Panarin having to leave Wednesday’s game with an injury, Gerard Gallant didn’t seem concerned about it when meeting with the media (Newsday)
• Vincent Mercogliano relays word about the motive behind some of Gallant’s questionable decisions regarding playing time for the team’s young forwards (LoHud)
• Tom Castro highlights Jonathan Tanner Miller and Luke Schenn as two players the Blueshirts  should look to acquire from the Vancouver Canucks (The Hockey Writers)/

Around the NHL:

• With NHL players publicly calling for the season to be paused amid the rapid spread of the Omnicron variant of COVID-19, league participation in the 2022 Olympics continues to look like a dicey proposition at best (TSN)
• Vegas Golden Knights’ forward Jonathan Marchessault spoke up about the New Jersey Devils instigating a brawl in the dying seconds of Vegas’ 5-3 victory last night (Sportsnet)
• The Montreal Canadiens’ 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in an empty Bell Centre was the highlight of an eventful night around the league (Yahoo Sports)/