Kraken’s Kaapo Kakko leaves game with lower-body injury

Kakko sustained the injury late in the first period of the game off of a faceoff. When the Jets won the faceoff, Kakko made a play on the loose puck, and in an attempt to grab it, he fell awkwardly on his right arm and leg.

Kakko left the game after scoring his first goal of the season in the first period, which tied the game at 1-1. He also had a shot and a hit in 3:17 of ice time in the game.

Kakko has already missed 10 games with a broken hand that he sustained during the preseason, so the injury concerns continue to pile up for him. There was some concern that the injury may have been the hand considering how he fell on his arm, but based on what the Kraken have reported, it’s lower-body and unrelated to his previous injury.

With Kakko out of the game, Eeli Tolvanen has been moved up from the third line to replace him on the second line alongside Chandler Stephenson and Jaden Schwartz. Entering the game, this trio were the second-most used combination by the Kraken this season, holding their opponents even at 3-3-, but with a 36.32% 5v5 expected goal share in 57:54 of ice time.

If Kakko misses significant time with the injury, Jani Nyman was the Kraken’s lone healthy-scratched forward and will likely draw into the lineup. Should the Kraken opt to deploy 11 forwards and seven defenseman, Cale Fleury and Josh Mahura were also healthy scratches.

While injuries certainly hasn’t helped Kakko’s cause, he’s had a slow start to the season even when he’s played. In the seven games he’s been in the lineup for the Kraken, he has just the one goal that he scored in Thursday’s game.