Kevin Lankinen looking like a young @LachInTheCrease on that save
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The Stanchies: Prime Lankinen returns, Canucks still go winless on road trip with 4-2 loss to Lightning
Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2026, 01:48 EDTUpdated: Oct 18, 2026, 02:08 EDT
The Vancouver Canucks are already 10 games into the 2026-27 season, and it feels like it’s both breezed by and moved at a snail’s pace.
A couple of weeks ago, the Canucks had two wins and two losses, a surprisingly positive start to the season as they prepared to head out on a six-game road trip through the East. Tomorrow, they’ll arrive home in Vancouver having lost all six games and getting brutally playmogged by a mixture of Cup contenders, middle-ground teams, and long-standing model franchises.
The Tampa Bay Lightning fall into that third camp, and it must be nice to be a team like them. They’ve been in the upper echelon of the National Hockey League for my entire adult life — and probably a lot of yours — and even at their lowest points, they’ve continuously put together some of the most competitive teams in the game. They know all the secrets to winning longevity and building a pipeline of great supporting cast members.
Simply put, they are everything the Canucks should hope to be someday.
Right now, Vancouver is back where Tampa was in 2007-08, a year away from drafting Steven Stamkos and taking their lumps from the rest of the NHL to get there. The Canucks have players capable of contributing offensively, and it showed in the way the team jumped out to a 2-0 lead for the second straight game. But they did it while getting absolutely dominated in possession, zone time and shots on goal. In a tie game, the Canucks mustered just two shots in the third period to the Lightning’s nine, and the Bolts got goals from Jake Guentzel and Pontus Holmberg to salt the game away.
Tonight, goaltending wasn’t the Canucks’ problem. Kevin Lankinen more than did his job, making some five-alarm stops in the first period just to keep Vancouver from falling behind early, and wasn’t at fault on any of the Lightning’s four goals. If they can get more games from him like that, it’ll assuage a lot of concerns about a more even tandem between Lankinen and Leevi Meriläinen. But he just couldn’t get the run support to stay ahead.
Clearly, the Canucks have a lot of work to do. This road trip showed the massive hill Manny Malhotra and his staff need to climb just to get the Canucks to weather the offensive storms better teams are throwing at them. There were plenty of individual performances to like over the past two weeks, but the standings won’t show any of it.
Best Redemption Tour
Lanky starting out with flamboyance. And stuff.#canucks
— 🇨🇦 BiPolar Guide 🇨🇦 pronouns: who, whom, whoever, whomever. (@bipolarguide.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T20:16:10.110Z
No one on the Canucks has taken more arrows this season than Kevin Lankinen. He’s been a mess at times this year, and has effectively lost his 1A job to Leevi Meriläinen. Needless to say, he entered this game with a chip on his shoulder, and he was locked in from minute one.
First, Lanks made a pair of stops on Brandon Hagel and Gage Goncalves, a player who I constantly forget exists until every next game against the Lightning.
Then Dominic James and Conor Geekie set up Victor Hedman for a one-timer that Lankinen read all the way and robbed him with a stretching left pad save.
Where have the Canucks been hiding this version of Kevin Lankinen?
Best way to guarantee you make the Stanchies
That’s right, Adam.
Now I would like to clarify that I’m still young (some have even called me a 29-year-old prodigy), but bringing up my puck-stopping skills caters to my need for praise and is a near slam dunk to getting in here.
Now, how did Kevin Lankinen make such an Irvine-esque save? The same way he stopped Hedman earlier in the period: with a gorgeous slide to his left.
Lankinen catalogues where Jake Guentzel is as Gage Goncalves is starting to get in towards the hash marks. DePetey does his best to take away the passing lane with a slide, but he executes it a little too early, and Goncalves passes it around his outstretched leg. Guentzel seems to have all the net in the world to shoot at. But he didn’t anticipate Lankinen’s return to god mode.
A lot of people didn’t, really! But they’re glad to see it.
Best Sami Salo impression
KARLSSON CLAPBOMB!! #CANUCKS
new Mr. Saturday: Linus Karlsson scored last Saturday in New Jersey and now in Tampa Bay
Jeff, as always, is correct. Move over, Cole Caufield, there’s a new Mr. Saturday Night in town. (Does it matter that both his goals were in the afternoon?)
It’s clear the Canucks are going to be a team that relies on quality over quantity this year. They’re not getting outshot to heck every night because they’re sitting back or utilizing a defensive “play not to lose” mentality. They just don’t have the horses to get a lot of pucks on net right now.
Their first power play opportunity resulted in zero shots on goal, so it makes perfect sense that they’d get their best two scoring chances as soon as Nikita Kucherov stepped out of the box. Then Linus Karlsson drilled the puck with the kind of force that would make Sami Salo shed a tear of joy.
Filip Chytil has already made a big difference in the two games he’s been back. He made a beautiful cut to the net to draw the Lightning in, then found Liam Öhgren for the first scoring chance that hit the side of the net (the black eye might be affecting his depth perception). Then Chytil corralled the puck behind the net and pushed it to Paul Cotter in the corner. Cotter made the final pass to Karlsson, who let a rocket go that Dennis Hildeby is still searching for in the net.
We love a throwback to the Finnish McInnis around here, and naturally the guy to make that happen is a Swedish forward. God, that Salo slapper was lethal.
Best observation
linesmen and refs always get hurt during canucks games 💀💀
Or tripped. Or grab onto your player right as he’s about to get a breakaw- sorry, I have to let it go. I’m not bitter!
Anyways, the Lightning almost took out Francis Charron with this dump-in at the beginning of the second period.
Luckily, the puck hit his elbow guard, so it only shook him up slightly, but there really has been a weird run of referee incidents in Canucks games this year, hasn’t there? Heck, Chytil’s only on his second game of the year because he tripped over a ref’s foot.
At this rate, officials are going to start declining assignments in Vancouver.
Best Petey vs. Petey
EP40 POWERPLAY HEALINGS. FILL EM OUT
the Elias petterssons are now tied in goals
It makes sense for Elias Pettersson and Elias Pettersson to have some extremely healthy competition. Only one Elias Pettersson can reign supreme on the scoring chart, and both are trying to stake a claim to it.
DePetey regained a one-goal lead on Thursday against the Panthers, so it was going to be up to Original Petey to return serve. And he responded with a beauty on the power play from right along the goal line.
Ironically, this play starts with a great read by Brandon Hagel to break up a pass by Fil Hronek to Jonathan Lekkerimäki. But Fil redeems himself by poking the puck away from Hagel, and Lekkerimäki is there to retrieve it before it could crawl over the blue line. Brock Boeser set up Lekkerimäki for a one-timer that sailed wide, but EP40 was waiting from behind the goal line for the ricochet.
And somehow, despite having Hildeby, Erik Cernak and Jake DeBrusk standing between him and an insanely bad angle, Petey threaded the needle perfectly.
There’s already a lot of talk that EP40 has never been more back in his career. With 10 points in 10 games, we may have to call this race sooner than any of the municipal elections going on in BC today. Which Elias Pettersson is getting your vote today?
Best Half-Hasek
rare occurence. Just the third minor penalty of #Canucks Ohgren's career there. Proves costly as TBL get on the board
After getting stuck in the sin bin led to Linus Karlsson’s goal earlier in the first, you knew that could light a fire under Nikita Kucherov. Even with a lot of hard miles on his 33-year-old body, Kuch can take over any game with the snap of his fingers.
As is tradition with the Lightning, Kucherov waited until the Bolts had a power play to execute his revenge. Liam Öhgren got the gate for hooking J.J. Moser (only his third minor penalty ever, go figure). The Lightning PP unit froze the Canucks’ PK in their diamond as Guentzel and Hagel played tic-tac-toe with Kucherov.
But here’s the thing: Lankinen actually ROBBED Kucherov on the shot, getting his glove in front with the lunge across. But he didn’t snag it clean, and neither he nor DePetey in front of him were ready for the rebound to pop right back to Kucherov, and he drilled it into the back of the net on the redo.
Gotta give props for the Dominator-like leg-up attempt from Lanks, even if it was in vain. We need to bring back flair to the goaltending position, darn it!
Best Almost
This was the moment when this game began to resemble the one before it. In the Panthers game, it was Petey getting hauled down by a ref and Akira Schmid making some key stops on a third-period power play to keep the Canucks from that all-elusive third goal.
Tonight, a misplay by seventh defenceman Charle-Edouard D’Astous led to the puck smacking off the frame of the net and redirecting to the front of the net like a billiards shot. EP40 read the weird bounce and quickly fed it to Jake DeBrusk, heading right down Main Street (Tampa has one of those, right?).
DeBrusk got De-birthday shot he wanted, but C-ED was ready to atone for his error by deflecting the puck and killing its momentum.
DeBrusk should’ve blown out the candles on his birthday cake before the game instead of waiting for team dinner afterwards. He could’ve wished for a better bounce.
Best I just watched this movie
Canucks trying to keep a lead challenge = IMPOSSIBLE
Oh god, it’s deja vu.
Nikita Kucherov clearly saw what Brady Tkachuk did to the Canucks on Thursday, and the Battle of Florida is all-encompassing in today’s NHL. So Kuch decided to erase Vancouver’s lead earlier in the hockey game, thanks in large part to Brayden Point tying up EP40 on the faceoff and not a single Canuck being prepared for a quick shot.
In some ways this is the preferable way to give up a lead. Sure you don’t get an overtime point, but it’s not as gut-wrenching as doing it with 11 seconds to go.
Best Bots
The AI bot farms are still alive and well…
I have so many questions. First, who is paying for Leevi Meriläinen propaganda right now when it’s readily available everywhere for free?
And second, who’s paying for hockey bots AT ALL??
Best Writing on the Wall
i deserve a purple heart for watching the 26-27 canucks
The Lightning didn’t want to leave this game tied too long into the third period. They only needed two minutes to get the puck around the boards, D’Astous fed it to Jake Guentzel, and the former Canucks trade target let a rocket go that deflected off Liam Öhgren and redirected past Lankinen’s glove.
At least it wasn’t a Kucherov natural hat trick this time.
Best Alex Edler School of Goaltending
Filip Hronek:
A lot has been made of Fil Hronek’s tough start to the season. Tonight he’s looked better overall, but he saved his best work for last.
Anthony Cirelli was inches away from giving the Lightning a two-goal lead, but Fil Hronek slid in like he’d spent his childhood watching VHS tapes of the 2000s’ best saves.
Hronek seals off the post quite well with some standard VH. Marko Torenius will probably have some notes for him and want to adjust his slide into the modern RVH, but you have to be careful tinkering with the talent that got Hronek to the NHL in the first place.
Best No Bad Ideas
they’re saving the wins for home i get them
Every time the Canucks commit a turnover, they make it way too easy for the opposition to take the puck and enter their zone. They aren't applying nearly enough pressure in the neutral zone. #Canucks
The Lightning salted the game away with time to spare. Like the second Bolts goal, it came off a faceoff. Zemgus Girgensons ties up EP40, and the excellently named Pontus Holmberg makes a beeline for the puck. Holmberg gets around Hronek and EP40 like he’s avoiding oncoming shopping carts in a grocery store, and slides the puck under Lankinen, who was trying the Hasek save again at a much less desirable time.
And just like that, the Canucks finish their six-game road trip with one out of a possible 12 points. The results of each loss have varied from close games to disasterclasses, but they’ll be better off for the lessons they’ve gotten in the long run.
Let’s just hope they’re saving some wins for the home schedule this season.
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Vancouver CanucksTeam Cap Summary
Cap Summary
2026-27
2027-28
Projected Cap Hit
$87,295,050
$71,329,167
Projected Cap Space
$16,704,950
$42,170,833
Current Cap Space
$18,413,411
$42,170,833
Active Players
23/23
13/23
Draft Picks
Round
'27
'28
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
1
1