Kaapo Kahkonen has his eyes set on the bigger picture.
Making his second start in a Sharks uniform since San Jose acquired him in a trade at the deadline, Kahkonen stopped 42 shots but allowed four goals Thursday night in a 4-2 loss to the Western Conference-leading Colorado Avalanche.
He received plenty of praise from teammates and coach Bob Boughner after the defeat, but Kahkonen wasn’t satisfied.
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SIGN UP HERE “Good is not good enough in this league,” Kahkonen said. “I don't want to be the good goalie. I want to be the guy that makes a difference and keeps that game tighter at the end there.”
Kahkonen kept San Jose in the game for two periods. The 25-year-old stopped 15 shots he faced in the first period alone and surrendered just one goal over the first 40 minutes to the star-studded Avalanche, who boast the NHL’s second-ranked offense.
“I thought he was excellent,” Boughner said after the loss. “I thought that a couple of those goals, he had no help on. I thought he made some big saves for us at the right time. I thought he played extremely well.”
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“Kahkonen was fantastic tonight and kept us in the game,” forward Timo Meier agreed. “He works hard in practice. He was excellent in net. We have to improve and bring more to beat a team like Colorado."
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Kahkonen has allowed four goals in each of his first two starts in San Jose, but he’s already notched a proven NHL track record with 28 quality starts and a 2.91 career goals-against average.
But, again, he's not satisfied.