The Vancouver Canucks’ goaltending situation remains as murky as ever, with Thatcher Demko’s timeline for return still uncertain, leaving head coach Rick Tocchet with some preseason decisions to make.
Kevin Lankinen made his first start in a Canucks uniform last night in Seattle against the Kraken. After a rocky first period, where he gave up two goals on 11 shots — a period in which Vancouver as a team looked lost and managed only four shots of their own — Lankinen settled in for the remainder of the game, making some impressive stops.
Lankinen was signed to a one-year, $875,000 contract just six days ago while spending his offseason back home in Europe. With such a short turnaround, some time to adjust to the team is expected.
“He just got here from Europe, so we needed to get three or four practices under his belt. I thought Friday was a good time for him to play three periods,” said Rick Tocchet in an interview yesterday.
It’s hard to judge a player when the ramp-up to get into the lineup has been so fast-tracked that he’s still wearing his old team’s pads. Despite this, Lankinen looked solid in his white-and-yellow setup, stopping 20 of 23 shots as the Canucks looked lethargic and lost the game 3-1 in regulation.
“We’ll get Arty [Silovs] a couple of periods tomorrow. It’s important those guys get the lion’s share,” Tocchet continued.
This sets the stage for what many assume will be a Silovs-Lankinen tandem in net to start the season while Demko continues to rehab his popliteus muscle. Silovs looked sharp in his last preseason game against the Kraken, as he aims to return to his form from a season ago. Jiri Patera also had a solid preseason game against the Flames the following night.
If ever there was a time for Vancouver to experience goaltending turmoil, it’s only amplified by the recent reports that Vancouver’s relationship with former goaltending coach Ian Clark has soured over the offseason. Clark has been with Vancouver as the goalie coach for the last six years, with an impressive resume of coaching up players like Jacob Markstrom, Thatcher Demko, and promising Arturs Silovs.
The depth at the position is there. With Silovs, Lankinen, Patera, and Tolopilo (who, per Tocchet, will likely get a period of action tomorrow against the Flames), the Canucks’ netminder room certainly has the bodies.
The question remains: Which of these goalies will emerge as the clear starter in Demko’s absence, if any? For now, Silovs and Lankinen seem to be at the top of the ladder.
Sponsored by bet365!
