In Finnish or in English, Kaapo Kakko has been hard on himself.
The Rangers’ precocious 18-year-old forward did not walk back any of the things he said in his native tongue this weekend during an interview with a reporter from Finland in which he vented his frustration with how his rookie season in the NHL has started. Instead, the No. 2-overall selection doubled down on the fact he thinks he hasn’t played well enough through his first seven games, making it just as clear in his adopted tongue on Wednesday.
“We’re not playing good right now as a team, and I’m not playing good,” Kakko said in English, as the Rangers prepared to take a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) into Thursday night’s Garden match against the league-leading Sabres.