Kakko scored an unassisted goal during Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over Colorado.
The tally is Kakko's 11th goal of the year. While he has just 16 points through 52 games, his scoring rate has improved some over recent weeks. He now has three goals and four points over the last seven games.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Scores Saturday
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Kakko scored a power-play goal on four shots in Saturday's 4-0 win over St. Louis.
Kakko put the finishing touches on the Rangers' shutout victory, burying a rebound on the power play to extend the lead to 4-0 in the third period. The goal was Kakko's first point in six games, though he continues to play a solid two-way game on New York's third line. The 23-year-old Kakko is up to eight goals and 12 points through 42 games this season.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Pots game-winner Tuesday
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Kakko scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Stars.
The 23-year-old winger gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead midway through the second period, taking advantage of the open ice during a 4-on-4 situation and going top shelf on Scott Wedgewood from the faceoff dot. Kakko hasn't had a multi-point performance all season, but he has found his way onto the scoresheet in five straight games and has four goals and seven points in the last nine contests. The second overall pick in the 2019 Draft has yet to put together a breakout campaign in the NHL, but he might be heating up for the stretch run.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Scores Thursday
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Kakko scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 7-4 win over Montreal.
Kakko put the finishing touch on the Rangers' offensive outburst Thursday, skating through the Habs' defense before beating Sam Montembeault with a wrister to extend New York's lead to 7-3 midway through the third period. The 23-year-old Kakko now has points in three straight games and six points (four goals, two assists) in 13 contests since returning from a 21-game stint on IR. While he's been limited to primarily a third-line role, Kakko's demonstrated some chemistry with Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski on the third line. Kakko's up to six goals and nine points through 33 games this season.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Misfires in return from break
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Kakko posted one shot on goal, four missed shots and two PIM in Monday's 2-1 overtime win over the Avalanche.
Kakko went into the All-Star break on a two-game goal streak, but his timing was a bit off in his return. In addition to missing the net on four shot attempts, Kakko also had his stick tied up with a loose puck sitting in front and Alexandar Georgiev out of position in the first period. Immediately after missing that golden opportunity, Kakko was whistled for a tripping penalty. The 22-year-old's having a career-worst season with just six points in 29 appearances.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Ready to rock
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Kakko (lower body) was activated from long-term injured reserve ahead of his return to the lineup Sunday against Washington, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.
Kakko had been seeing the majority of his playing time alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider prior to missing the past 21 contests. The 22-year-old Kakko has two goals, one assist, 23 shots on net and seven blocked shots over 20 appearances this season.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Close to returning
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Kakko (lower body) is day-to-day at this stage of his recovery, coach Peter Laviolette told Peter Baugh of The Athletic on Wednesday.
Kakko joined the Rangers for Wednesday's practice while wearing a full-contact jersey. He has two goals and three points in 20 contests this season. Although the 22-year-old did record 40 points last season and still has considerable potential, he's likely to serve in a bottom-six capacity once he returns from his injury.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Wearing non-contact jersey Thursday
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Kakko (lower body) is back at practice Thursday, albeit in a non-contact jersey, according to Arthur Staple of The Athletic.
Kakko has been out of action since Nov. 27 versus the Sabres and this represents another step in his eventual return to action. Kakko has been a huge disappointment this season, as he has only two goals and an assist in 20 games, not what you would expect from a 22-year-old forward who was taken second overall in the 2019 Draft.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Resumes skating
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Per Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today, coach Peter Laviolette said Friday that Kakko (lower body) has skated on his own three or four times recently.
Kakko was injured Nov. 27 versus Buffalo and has missed the last 10 games. Kakko got off to a tough start before suffering the injury -- he has only two goals and three points in 20 games. this year The second overall pick in 2019, Kakko has been a disappointment thus far in his NHL career.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Placed on LTIR
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Kakko (lower body) was put on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, per CapFriendly.
Kakko, who was injured in Monday's 5-1 loss to Buffalo, will miss at least 10 games and 24 days following his move to LTIR. According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Kakko is expected to be out for a significant amount of time, but it is not believed to a season-ending injury. The 22-year-old forward has two goals, one assist and 23 shots on net through 20 games this season. Jonny Brodzinski, who was called up from AHL Hartford on Tuesday, is projected to replace Kakko on the third line.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Lights lamp for just second time
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Kakko scored a goal in Monday's 6-3 road loss against the Stars.
Kakko ended up with two shots on goal and a hit in his 10:28 of ice time over just 15 shifts. His goal was just his second of the season, and first since Oct. 21 in Seattle. He had been scoreless in the past 10 games since that last goal against the Kraken, too. He'll look for points in consecutive points for the first time in Wednesday's road game against the Penguins.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Scores for 100th career point
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Kakko scored a goal in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Kraken.
The goal was Kakko's 100th career point (45 tallies, 55 helpers), a mark he achieved in 244 contests. The marker also stood as the game-winner in the contest. The 22-year-old winger is off to a bit of a slow start despite seeing time on the top line at even strength. He has two points, 10 shots on net and a plus-1 rating through five appearances.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Skates on top line Opening Night
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Kakko had three shots and a plus-1 rating across 14:34 TOI in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Sabres.
Kakko skated on the top line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider at even strength. The second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft also led the team with 2:51 TOI on the power play Wednesday, though that usage is deceiving, as Kakko and the Rangers' second power-play unit saw extensive ice time on a man-advantage opportunity that spanned the final 1:06 of the third period with the game well in hand. Despite his quiet performance Opening Night, Kakko's top-line role has him in position to build on last season's career highs of 18 goals and 40 points.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Snags helper in Game 1
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Kakko picked up an assist in Tuesday's Game 1 clash with the Devils.
Kakko has been rolling of late with four goals and one assist in his last eight contests, along with 18 shots. Paired with fellow youngsters Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere on the Rangers' third line, the 22-year-old Kakko should continue to rack up points in the playoffs.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Four points in last four games
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Kakko had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win over the Panthers on Saturday.
Kakko was Johnny-on-the-spot in front and lifted a rebound past Sergei Bobrovsky with the Rangers' first goal near the mid-point of the second frame. He has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last four games after delivering just three in his previous 14. Kakko's growth curve has been slow, but we've seen glimpses of the reason he was taken second overall.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Scores in loss
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Kakko tallied a goal on two shots in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes.
Kakko gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead midway through the third period, working his way to the front of the net before burying a loose puck. It's Kakko's first goal since Feb. 25 and just his third point in 11 games since the start of March. The 22-year-old winger has shown potential early in his NHL career, but he's yet to provide the offensive consistency that the Rangers and fantasy managers would like. Kakko now has 13 goals and 21 assists through 71 games this season.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Extends point streak to five games
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Kakko supplied a goal in a 6-2 win over the Hurricanes on Saturday.
Kakko's marker came at 17:46 of the third period to extend the Rangers' lead to 5-2. He has 11 goals and 28 points in 53 contests in 2022-23. Kakko is on a five-game point streak, contributing two goals and five points over that span.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Supplies two points Friday
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Kakko provided a goal and an assist in a 6-3 win over Seattle on Friday.
Kakko's marker came at 5:01 of the first period to increase the Rangers' lead to 2-0. He's contributed 10 goals and 27 points in 52 contests this season. Kakko is on a three-game point streak and has been held off the scoresheet only once in his last six contests.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Grabs assist in win
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Kakko picked up an assist in Monday's 5-4 overtime victory over Calgary.
Kakko set up Filip Chytil's opening tally in the first period with a crafty feed off the board. It's Kakko's sixth assist in as many games, as been productive as a playmaker during Chytil's goal-scoring streak. The 21-year-old Kakko now has a career-high 24 points in 50 games this season with nine goals and 15 assists.
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Rangers' Kaapo Kakko: Another two-point showing
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Kakko collected two assists in Monday's 6-2 win over the Panthers.
The Rangers' kid line of Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil generated two goals in the third period to help put the game to bed. Kakko has two two-point performances in the last three games, and the unit -- which features the second overall, first overall and 21st overall selections in their respective draft years -- could be developing some very intriguing chemistry. For his part, Kakko needs just two more goals and two more points to set new career highs in those categories.
