Kevin Lankinen watched from the Vancouver Canucks’ bench on opening night but has since made his case as the club’s top goaltender amid transition at the position.
With Thatcher Demko still recovering from a knee injury sustained early in last season’s playoffs, Lankinen has shined, entering Tuesday’s visit to the Chicago Blackhawks with two straight victories.
On Saturday, Lankinen stopped all 26 shots he faced in Philadelphia to notch the fourth shutout of his career. He credited a calm demeanor for his early-season success as he competes for time with Arturs Silovs.
“I try not to be too high or too low and just keep that … even keel and focus on what I can do every day,” Lankinen said. “If the results follow, that’s great. But it’s staying patient and confident and following my process and following the grind here.
“That’s the key.”
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet turned to Lankinen after host Tampa Bay solved Silovs 4-1 in the opener of a four-game road trip on Oct. 15.
Tocchet said Lankinen, who spent his first two NHL seasons with Chicago,”has been unreal” en route to starting 2-0-1 with a 1.28 goals-against average.
“I like his composure and he’s good at just stopping pucks,” Tocchet said.
Nils Hoglander, Brock Boeser and Kiefer Sherwood excelled at scoring them against the Flyers, providing the offense as Vancouver continued to rebound from three losses to begin the season.
The Blackhawks have alternated wins and losses in their past four games after an 0-1-1 start. Chicago, which will play the third game of a four-game homestand, is coming off Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Playing in front of backup goalie Arvid Soderblom, Chicago surrendered a pair of goals midway through the first period before regrouping.
Craig Smith scored twice over a span of 6:20 in the second to tie the game for the Blackhawks. Lukas Reichel contributed the primary assist on both goals.
Buffalo took the lead with 1:23 remaining in the period and the Blackhawks pressured the Sabres down the stretch but were unable to get even or take the lead. An empty-net goal with 26 seconds to go provided the final margin.
“We’re going to keep moving in the right direction, keep making corrections,” Smith said. “Obviously there was some tonight. We can look back, a few X’s and O’s stuff that resulted in a goal but continue to move forward and build our game as best we can.”
Chicago navigated concerns with forward depth as Joey Anderson (illness) and Patrick Maroon (lower-body injury) both missed the game.
The Blackhawks outshot the Sabres 37-22 and hope to sustain the connection between Reichel and Smith for secondary scoring.
“We were forechecking hard, we skated hard, and we got two goals, which is good. But at the same time, we’re disappointed because we didn’t win, and at the same time, we gave up two goals, our line,” Reichel said.
“If you score, you’ve got to play defensively good, too.”
–Field Level Media
