Kaapo Kakko got the role he always wanted in New York in Seattle.
Before going scoreless in the Kraken's 4-3 loss to the Canucks on Thursday night, Kakko had one goal, two assists and 10 shots in his first five games with his second NHL team. .
The 23-year-old Finn skates on the right wing of the Kraken's top line, along with fellow No. 2 overall pick Matti Beniers (2021) and Jaden Schwartz.
Average ice time is 15 minutes, 13 seconds, four seconds shy of the 13 minutes, 17 seconds he averaged in New York this season, and Kakko played more minutes on Dec. 28 (18 minutes, 18 seconds) than he did with the Rangers. Recorded. Coach Peter Laviolette.
He is part of the second power play unit and has logged 2:20 and 2:37 of man-advantage time in the past two games, respectively.
And Kakko has already participated in the Kraken's home victory tradition of “feeding the fish” into the stands as the game's second star.
“Yeah, especially after the last two games,” Kakko told reporters of his confidence level after the Kraken's 5-2 win over Utah. “It was a bit of a difficult start and we lost all three games, which is never good, but I felt really good. [Monday]especially the first period. I think we had a lot of good chances. Power play too. could be [a] It's a couple's goal. ”
The loss of Kakko, and the additional losses that have piled up since his departure, has left head coach Peter Laviolette tossing around the Rangers' middle six at times.
There hasn't been much continuity for the Rangers, from moving Mika Zibanejad down to the third line for a few games to splicing and chugging various wingers in different positions, but the Rangers won the blue on the 12th. They bounced back from the loss with a 2-1 win against the Inns. Thursday night.
The third line of Kakko, Filip Sitil, and Will Quill was one of the Blueshirts' most effective lines, but even that had to be dismantled as the team needed a different look.
Kakko was scratched healthy in St. Louis after his last match with the two aforementioned skaters on December 14th.
According to Natural Stat Trick, of the 184 minutes and 16 seconds of ice time with Kakko, Sittil and Quill were only on the ice for 5-on-5, 2 goals against 5 and 13 goals against.
In addition to outscoring opponents 91-80, they had a 43-28 advantage in dangerous chances.
It's a much smaller sample size than Brett Berard's Chytil and Kyle numbers, but it's also likely reflective of the Rangers' situation.
The Rangers' new third unit had one goal and three losses in 16 minutes, 22 seconds of ice time prior to Thursday night's game against the Bruins at Madison Square Garden.
They outscored their opponents 15-10 and outscored them 8-4 in dangerous chances.
“I think Berard is a slightly different player than Kakko,” Laviolette said after practice Wednesday. “The line was good. I think the last game was the best game. [against the Panthers]. They created so many opportunities. Berard appears to be joining the offensive line. His hand seems to be in it. they could be good. It's definitely not the same player, it's a different player, a younger player. So we're working on that too. He brings speed, enthusiasm and tenacity on the ice.
“The play is being built. I think Will had two chances to score right before we went on the power play and I think it changed the game. That line was good.”
