"I want to score, so there is a little bit of pressure, but we have 80 games left," Kakko said following practice Tuesday. "I think it's coming. I know everybody was thinking that I'm going to score in my first game. That didn't happen. Maybe next game. Hopefully."
If it doesn't happen against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; SN, MSG, NHL.TV), the Rangers (2-0-0) certainly won't panic or begin to wonder what's wrong with the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
They love what they've seen from Kakko in wins against the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators. Though he has no points, he has three shots on goal and is averaging 14:23 of ice time per game (15:31 in the opener against the Jets and 13:54 against the Senators), playing 18 shifts in each game.
Coach David Quinn needed one regular-season game to conclude Kakko will almost never be a concern for the Rangers.
"I don't think he's going to have many bad nights," Quinn said after the season-opening 6-4 home win against Winnipeg on Oct. 3. "He may not have a great night, but he's not going to have a bad night. Right away that makes you a pro, and that's one of the things we talk about. It's not so much how good is your good, it's how bad is your bad. A game might end and you might think, 'Oh, Kaapo was OK,' and that will be his bad night. If that's the case, he's going to have a [heck] of a career."
Top-line center Mika Zibanejad, who was named the NHL First Star of the Week on Monday, referred to Kakko's overall game when asked what makes him confident the rookie will deliver on his potential sooner rather than later.
"He's more ready than most of the 18-year-olds that come over here, just the way he plays, the physicality that he has, not just hitting but just protecting the puck and playing," Zibanejad said. "I'm really, really looking forward to what he can do."
But first Kakko must figure out the nuances of the NHL game. Two games aren't enough, but he is trying to be a quick study.
"The game is so fast, that's the first thing," Kakko said. "Sometimes you need to throw the puck in deep. That wasn't my game last season. I need to do that sometimes."