Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko surely added to his growing confidence level, one that started to take off when he arrived to Seattle in December, but despite his worthy efforts his Finnish team fell short at the Four Nations Face-Off in Boston.
Team Canada defeated Team Finland on Monday 5-3. The outcome eliminated Finland and sent the Canadians to the tournament final on Thursday against Team USA.
Kakko played 11:27 in ice time and generated three shots on goal.
He finished even in plus/minus for the round robin having played in two of the games, picking up an assist in the 4-3 OT win against Sweden on Saturday, and generating a grand total of five shots on goal.
By the way, the final score Monday is misleading. Canada cruised into the 3rd period with a 4-0 lead on Finland and then held on for dear life.
D-man Esa Lindell put the Finns on the board with 6:41 remaining with a shot off the post and in on the blocker side of Jordan Binnington.
With their net empty and an extra attacker on the ice, Finland scored two more goals just :23-seconds apart with more than a minute remaining: Mikael Granlund at 18:20 and Granlund again at 18:43.
It wasn’t until Sidney Crosby potted an empty-netter from center ice with 56-seconds left that the final score was determined.
With the final match-up set, USA and Sweden played a mostly meaningless game later on Monday.
Kakko and the Kraken return to NHL action on Saturday in Florida against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.
