Kakko gets congratulations for first NHL goal from Selanne, Tikkanen

Fellow Finns send well-wishes on Twitter after Rangers rookie scores against Oilers

EDM@NYR: Kakko uses slick move to net first NHL goal

By Pat Pickens @Pat_Pickens / NHL.com Staff Writer

Kaapo Kakko scored his first NHL goal, and two Finnish hockey legends couldn't be prouder.

Teemu Selanne and Esa Tikkanen, two former NHL forwards who hail from Kakko's home country, sent congratulations to the rookie after his first NHL goal on Saturday.

Kakko, the second pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, fired up New York Rangers fans at Madison Square Garden by breaking the ice with a sneaky backhand shot past Edmonton Oilers goalie Mike Smith.

Selanne is the highest-scoring Finnish player in NHL history and won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. Tikkanen ranks seventh in points among Finns and won five Stanley Cup championships with the Oilers (four) and Rangers (one).
They weren't the only hockey luminaries of Scandinavian descent to weigh in on the goal.
"It was a nice one," said Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, a Swede. "I'm happy for him. It's still early, so it's going to come, a lot of those for him, but it's nice to see him get rewarded. He's playing really well."
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Rangers, who lost 4-1.

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