The metrics under the hood tell a curious story centered on one basic fact: Kakko and his linemates are on a shooting hot streak while Lafreniere and his linemates are in a shooting slump.

Kakko is also in the right spot. The Kraken have a younger team, which puts Kakko in a position to develop properly and learn from his mistakes. The weight of the world was on Kak

Kakko provided an assist, fired two shots on net and added two hits in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Jets.

The hope when the Seattle Kraken acquired forward Kaapo Kakko from the New York Rangers was that the former second-overall pick could reignite his stale career.

Since being traded away by the New York Rangers, forward Kaapo Kakko has found a new home with the Seattle Kraken. Amid a hot streak, the 23-year-old Finn dropped a bold message, aiming at Peter Laviolette and his former team.

“All the Finnish guys know each other, like, somehow,” Kakko said.

Kakko spent Christmas in Seattle at Tolvanen’s house, although the newly acquired winger fielded inquiries from several other Kraken players. The Finns last played together in 2019, so they had a lot to catch up on, sharing “dumb” summer stories and reflecting on their shared history.

Kaapo Kakko scored twice in the third period, Joey Daccord made 33 saves and the Seattle Kraken overcame an early two-goal deficit to beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 on Saturday.

Kakko scored an empty-netter and received a misconduct penalty for abuse of officials late in the third period. The 23-year-old has been on a roll lately with three goals and five assists over his last eight games while seeing top-six minutes.

He has been a solid fit in the Rangers defense corps since coming to New York in the Kaapo Kakko trade on Dec. 18.

The Seattle Kraken took a chance by trading for 23-year-old Kaapo Kakko but the early returns show the move was worthwhile.

The Jets, facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit with time dwindling down, ignited their comeback engine, scoring with a dramatic late surge in the third period to steal a 2-1 victory from the Kraken in a thrilling finish on Thursday,