Kokko attempts goalie goal in 1st NHL start, stops 26 shots as Kraken beat Flames 4-1
As time ran out on Nikke Kokko’s first career NHL start, the 22-year-old Seattle goalie flung the puck down the ice. The Calgary Flames had already pulled their own goalie, Devin Cooley, as they tried to rally from a two-goal deficit in their 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Kokko’s prospective shot on goal was deflected deep in Seattle’s end by Flames forward Morgan Frost, though, ending any hopes of a storybook ending to the Oulu, Finland, native’s second career NHL game.
SEATTLE (AP) — As time ran out on Nikke Kokko’s first career NHL start, the 22-year-old Seattle goalie flung the puck down the ice. The Calgary Flames had already pulled their own goalie, Devin Cooley, as they tried to rally from a two-goal deficit in their 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Kokko’s prospective shot on goal was deflected deep in Seattle’s end by Flames forward Morgan Frost, though, ending any hopes of a storybook ending to the Oulu, Finland, native’s second career NHL game.
“This year, I tried three times, maybe, before that,” Kokko said of his time in the American Hockey League. “... It was good they (didn’t) score there after I tried.
” The Flames struggled to sneak any shots past Kokko, who made 26 saves. Kokko admitted he was “a little bit nervous” before Saturday’s game, but became more comfortable as he went through pregame warmups. It didn’t hurt to have Victor Ostman, his goalie partner the last two years with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL, on the scene.
“(We’ve) both had a good year so far,” said Kokko, who made his NHL debut Feb. 25 against the St. Louis Blues and was the youngest goalie to do so at the time.