Kevin Lankinen is the first #Canucks goaltender off of the ice and is your projected starter Saturday vs. Kraken.
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Scenes from morning skate: Lankinen starts, Myers sits again for Canucks vs. Kraken
Photo credit: © Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Feb 28, 2026, 15:40 EST
The Vancouver Canucks (18-33-7) finish the month of February with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken (27-22-9) at Climate Pledge Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., and it’s the late game on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Canucks have dropped four straight (0-2-2) since their last victory on January 29 against the Anaheim Ducks.
What we saw
It appears to be status quo for the Canucks as they make a quick stop in Seattle tonight. The team looks like it will roll out the same 18 skaters it used in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. That means veteran blueliner Tyler Myers will sit out for a second straight game for trade-related reasons. Myers is with the club and took part in the morning skate, but will not dress tonight as he contemplates his future.
The only change will come in goal, where Kevin Lankinen makes his first start since a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on February 4. Lankinen represented Finland at the Olympics, but did not see any game action. So it has been more than three weeks since he last participated in a game at any level. Lankinen is 7-19-4 on the season with a 3.67 GAA and an .876% save percentage. His last win came against the Washington Capitals on January 21. He has dropped his last five starts all in regulation time.
Drew O’Connor and Evander Kane scored the Vancouver goals on Wednesday while Nikita Tolopilo made 24 saves in goal. With 14, O’Connor leads all active Canucks in goals scored this season. Kiefer Sherwood had 17 at the time he was traded to the San Jose Sharks.
Vancouver has scored exactly two goals in each of its past seven games (1-4-2). The club is 0-8 on the road since a 3-2 shootout victory the last time it was in Seattle on December 29. The club’s last regulation-time road win was December 19 against the New York Islanders.
The Canucks are 2-14-4 in their last 20 games, getting outscored 82-41 in the process.
Drew O’Connor will appear in his 300th NHL game tonight. There is something about Seattle that seems to bring out the best in Conor Garland. The veteran winger leads all Canucks with six goals and 14 points in 16 career games against the Kraken.
#Canucks at practice Friday Kane-EP40-DeBrusk Öhgren-Blueger-Garland O’Connor-Rossi-Boeser Höglander-Kämpf-Karlsson (Sasson-Räty) EP25-Hronek MP29-Willander Buium-Joseph
The Opponent
Kraken lines and pairs from morning skate⬇️ McCann-Beniers-Eberle Schwartz-Stephenson-Tolvanen Catton-Wright-Kakko Meyers-Gaudreau-Melanson Dunn-Larsson Oleksiak-Montour Evans-Fleury Daccord (starter) Grubauer #SeaKraken #SeattleKraken
Good morning from @ClimateArena, where our @SeattleKraken are on the ice for morning skate. Eeli Tolvanen and Josh Mahura on the ice first this morning ahead of tonight’s game against Vancouver. #SeaKraken #SeattleKraken
The Kraken have stumbled out of the Olympic break with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Kaapo Kakko had Seattle’s lone goal against the Blues. Philipp Grubauer allowed four goals on 31 shots. Joey Daccord gets the start in goal tonight.
Tonight is the Kraken’s only home game of February and its first on home ice since a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 29. Seattle has won three straight and four of five in the Emerald City.
Jordan Eberle leads the Kraken with 20 goals, while Jared McCann is second on the team with 16 goals in just 33 games played. Eberle is the team’s top point producer with 38 on the season, while Matty Beniers has 37 points and Chandler Stephenson has 36.
The Kraken own the best 5-on-5 save percentage in the NHL this season at .928%. Overall, Seattle owns the fifth-best save percentage in the league at .901% behind Colorado, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders.
Seattle sits 31st in the NHL on the penalty kill at 71.4%. The only team behind the Kraken? The Canucks at 71.1%.
News and notes
This is the third meeting of the season between these teams. The clubs have split shootout wins on the road. The Canucks were 3-2 winners in Seattle on December 29, while the Kraken returned the favour with a 4-3 victory a few nights later on January 2. The teams will face off one more time on March 14 at Rogers Arena.
The referees for tonight’s game are Trevor Hanson and Peter MacDougall.
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