Brewin Flames Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Kahkonen gets 1st shutout as Wild beat Golden Knights 2-0 (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs) By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves to notch his first career shutout for the Minnesota Wild in a 2-0 victory over Vegas on Monday night that stopped the West Division-leading Golden Knights' six-game winning streak. The unflappable Kahkonen won his seventh consecutive start, extending his franchise rookie goalie record and improving to 10-4 in his debut season. The 24-year-old native of Finland has allowed only 10 goals over his seven-game streak, impressing the Wild with his confidence and demeanor. "I think if you want to be calm, you want to look calm," Kahkonen said. "Then your teammates see you're doing your job, and they can focus on their job. I think that's what it's all about, and good to hear it looks like that. That's what I'm trying to do here." Kevin Fiala scored his team-lead-tying eighth goal of the season in the first period. That was the only blemish against Golden Knights star Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 19 shots. Jonas Brodin was awarded a goal for the Wild after being slashed from behind with 6 seconds left as he approached the empty net. The insurance goal wouldn't have been possible without Kahkonen, who has begun to overtake Cam Talbot as the primary netminder as the Wild (14-8-1) chase the Golden Knights (16-5-1) in the top-heavy division. "Unbelievable goalie. He makes saves. He finds rebounds," Fiala said. Calm isn't really a skill that can be taught. "My guess is he's been like that his entire life," Wild coach Dean Evason said. Vegas, which had 19 goals over its previous four games, had not scored fewer than two in almost a month. The Wild caught a break when the Golden Knights scratched two of their best players because of unspecified injuries, captain and right wing Mark Stone and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Stone entered the evening seventh in the NHL with 21 assists, one of the key cogs in a deep collection of forward lines on a team that ranked fifth in goals per game as the week began. "I really felt with our depth we could compete, and we did. I thought defensively and with our goaltender, we gave ourselves a chance tonight," coach Peter DeBoer said. "We just didn't do enough to score." Fleury, who posted his fourth shutout of the season on Saturday at San Jose, did all he could to keep the Golden Knights close as they hit the halfway point of a six-game, nine-day road trip. DeBoer predicted in the morning this would be the most difficult of these contests considering the Wild were outscored 10-5 over two losses - one in overtime - in Las Vegas last week. The Golden Knights started rather slowly and a bit sloppily, and a giveaway in their attacking zone set the Wild up for an early lead. Victor Rask snagged the puck, pivoted and passed it to send Fiala the other way on a two-on-one rush with Zach Parise. Fiala used Parise as a decoy and swooped in to snap a wrist shot over Fleury's shoulder midway through the first period. "He makes that move, fakes a shot and kind of freezes my feet a bit and takes a step toward the middle and gave himself a better angle to shoot that puck," Fleury said. "It was a quick shot." POWER OUTAGE The Wild went 0 for 2 on the power play and fell to a league-worst 6.8% conversion rate (5 for 74). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Hope, our rookie will be able to repeat his success next game too. Last season Kahkonen was the best in entire AHL league and I think, he is our future Wild star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 IMO he's passed the early audition even before this landmark. Obviously the AHL isn't an option for him anymore. He has nothing to prove nor learn there. Nor is an option riding the bench behind Talbot for that matter. They need to give him more starts than to Talbot. Hopefully Evason has enough cojones to make it happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Here's what he had to say to the Finnish media: "Oloni on ollut hyvä ja minulla on ollut hauskaa. Olen onnellinen siitä, miten hommat ovat lutviutuneet. Oli hienoa saada taas voitto. Kuulostan varmaan tylsältä näissä haastatteluissa, mutta tämä on minun päivittäistä työtäni. Uskon, että pienet asiat pitää hoitaa hyvin, koska se on työtäni" Something like: "I've felt good and had fun. I'm happy about how things have gone. It was great to have another win. I probably sound boring in these interviews, but this is my daily job. I believe in details being well taken care of because that's my job." He sounds very calm to me. Eventually we'll see how he handles high pressure situations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 1 hour ago, lynxrattle said: Here's what he had to say to the Finnish media: "Oloni on ollut hyvä ja minulla on ollut hauskaa. Olen onnellinen siitä, miten hommat ovat lutviutuneet. Oli hienoa saada taas voitto. Kuulostan varmaan tylsältä näissä haastatteluissa, mutta tämä on minun päivittäistä työtäni. Uskon, että pienet asiat pitää hoitaa hyvin, koska se on työtäni" Something like: "I've felt good and had fun. I'm happy about how things have gone. It was great to have another win. I probably sound boring in these interviews, but this is my daily job. I believe in details being well taken care of because that's my job." He sounds very calm to me. Eventually we'll see how he handles high pressure situations. Personally for me, a high pressure situations is not only in wins or losses; or our position in the West Division for the spot in a playoffs race, but also how he handles the ice arena full of fans. Some arenas are full already on 10-25% during the games and that number is going to raise because most our fans above 65 y.o. had vaccinations and the age for getting them now becoming younger too. Hope our area will be more opened to the fans too on supporting the Wild team which really really needs our support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 True, fans can support or cause pressure. It turns out the Finnish media had used NHL.com's Kahkonen interview: https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/postgame-golden-knights-030821/c-322281954 There's a larger interview. He admits his first season got to him after the great start. That worries me a bit. One might get only swipe at the cup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 9 hours ago, Alexandron said: Hope, our rookie will be able to repeat his success next game too. Last season Kahkonen was the best in entire AHL league and I think, he is our future Wild star. He earned that shutout. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 6 hours ago, Hockey-78 said: IMO he's passed the early audition even before this landmark. Obviously the AHL isn't an option for him anymore. He has nothing to prove nor learn there. Nor is an option riding the bench behind Talbot for that matter. They need to give him more starts than to Talbot. Hopefully Evason has enough cojones to make it happen. Hopefully hes not a flash in the pan I dont think so but with the Wilds luck who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 We have quite many Finnish goalies who have made it to the finals, Rinne, Kiprusoff, Rask at least, who have made it into the finals and then failed. If things go our way, maybe one day Kahkonen will get a chance to be the first Finnish number one goalie to lift the Cup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 3 hours ago, lynxrattle said: We have quite many Finnish goalies who have made it to the finals, Rinne, Kiprusoff, Rask at least, who have made it into the finals and then failed. If things go our way, maybe one day Kahkonen will get a chance to be the first Finnish number one goalie to lift the Cup. I hope so. The Finish goalies were always famous by their school and ethics for goalies preparation. Personally, I like Kahkonen for his certain level of consistency in his play for 3 years in a row( 2 in AHL and 1st year in NHL so far). He did not liked when he was compared to Nicklas Backstrom. And I understand why. Backstrom was not as consistent in his play as Kahkonen does so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 That makes me think about the importance of consistency. Would one rather take a consistent goalie or a spectacular, but inconsistent goalie? To hoist the cup, one needs to win four games. I've never really realised why commentators sometimes state the level of importance of a goalie being able to play a great game after a botched game. I do now, I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 20 hours ago, Bear said: Hopefully hes not a flash in the pan I dont think so but with the Wilds luck who knows. Maybe luck but maybe how they'll manage the situation. I mean, this could go the infamous Dubnyk route: you suck yet you play since you earn more. Seeing for many years what a garbage of an organization the Wild has been, that really wouldn't surprise me. They've wasted many talents and draft picks just being plain stupid in decision making. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Amen I think part of the stupid decisions is because CL was sticking his nose in there pushing to win now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Bear said: Amen I think part of the stupid decisions is because CL was sticking his nose in there pushing to win now. No doubt about it. Plus although I don't agree with every move BG has made, he seems like an improvement over Fletcher and a big improvement over Fenton. I'd say the odds are 40/60 they can screw up Kahkonen's development of being a TOP10 netminder in this league. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Lets hope they dont screw him up hes seems calm hopefully that will keep him from getting to high or to low. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 5 hours ago, lynxrattle said: That makes me think about the importance of consistency. Would one rather take a consistent goalie or a spectacular, but inconsistent goalie? To hoist the cup, one needs to win four games. I've never really realised why commentators sometimes state the level of importance of a goalie being able to play a great game after a botched game. I do now, I think. I would take a spectacular consistent goalie (1st), or at least only a consistent, but less spectacular (2nd). Consistent winning results are more important for me than just only a spectacle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 That's settled then. We're looking for a good enough goalie. Kahkonen can relax if he lets in a bad goal now and then. As far as the wins keep coming consistentmy enough 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) 22 hours ago, Jimtown guy said: There probably hasn't been a Wild rookie goalie able to pull off that kind of stretch of games. But in all honesty, this is probably one of the best defenses the Wild has had. Ever. Easy to play behind them, I think. Edited March 12, 2021 by Hockey-78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 8 hours ago, Hockey-78 said: There probably hasn't been a Wild rookie goalie able to pull off that kind of stretch of games. But in all honesty, this is probably one of the best defenses the Wild has had. Ever. Easy to play behind them, I think. I think so too. I'm looking at other teams' defending and think it's a mess compared to the Wild's defense on a good night. That gives a good chance for Kähkönen and why not Talbot as well to finetune their game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Can Kaapo Kahkonen be entered for a Vezina Trophy race? I see Canucks goalie Demko entered already and in front of him are Fleury ; Vasilevsky; Varlamov; and Grubauer. Hope, during the next 2 games against Colorado team we will be able to change Grubauer stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 I think playoffs success is a must to have a chance at a Vezina. Right now, I'm just happy for him to have 9 wins in a row. If he can get the 10th, he's in a company that only 4 rookie goal tenders ever have managed to join, and none since the 1970's. We'll have a party, if he manages to win the 10th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 25 minutes ago, lynxrattle said: I think playoffs success is a must to have a chance at a Vezina. Right now, I'm just happy for him to have 9 wins in a row. If he can get the 10th, he's in a company that only 4 rookie goal tenders ever have managed to join, and none since the 1970's. We'll have a party, if he manages to win the 10th We will have a party every time if he manages to win the 10th; 11th; 12th up to 14th and even higher.. According to this table, Samsonov has a chance too because in front of him a pretty good Capitals team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Potential party time galore! One game at a time. They have to stop those breakaways though. The partying will stop if there's at least one or two against us every game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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