The Vancouver Canucks got embarrassed on home ice for the second straight game as they dropped Saturday night’s contest to the Edmonton Oilers 7-2. After allowing three unanswered goals, the Canucks clawed their way back, finding two goals off the sticks of Elias Pettersson and Filip Hronek to send themselves into the final frame down just one goal.
But that’s when the game took a turn.
The Oilers grew their lead from 3-2 to 7-2 in less than five minutes halfway through the final frame. This gave head coach Rick Tocchet no choice but to make a change in goal, as Kevin Lankinen was relieved of his duties for the night for Arturs Silovs.
Here’s what the Canucks coach had to say regarding his decision to make the goaltending change with under nine minutes left in the game:
“He’s a competitor. He hung in there. It’s 3-2; he made a couple of [saves]. There was an empty net and somehow he gets hsit stick on it. This guy’s a fighter. He’s the least of our problems.”
Lankinen, 29, signed a one-year $875,000k contract in Vancouver amidst their training camp in late September. With star goaltender Thatcher Demko’s status up in the air on whether he’d be available to start the season, this Canucks coaching staff wasn’t comfortable heading into the season with a goaltending tandem of Arturs Silovs and Jiri Patera.
Outside of tonight’s performance, Lankinen had been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, ranking fourth in the league with a 2.08 goals against average (GAA) and a .923 save percentage (S%). But after tonight’s efforts (seven goals against, an 8.24 goals against average and a .741 save percentage), the Finnish netminder dropped to 14th in GAA (2.61) and 20th in S% (.905).
Considering this was his first regulation loss on his 7-1-2 record, this down performance won’t hold Lankinen back from leading the crease until last year’s Vezina runner-up Demko returns to action. Tocchet will have a decision to make as to who to start next game on Tuesday as the Canucks look to redeem themselves against the Calgary Flames.
