The Vancouver Canucks entered the season with a goaltending tandem regarded as one of the best in the entire National Hockey League: Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen. The biggest threat to that was a Demko injury, and not even a quarter of the way into the season, we’re already dealing with health issues with Demko.

After sitting out last weekend’s doubleheader against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche for precautionary maintenance, Demko returned for Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. However, he would last just 20 minutes as Lankinen led his club out onto the ice for the second period.

While the organization is still evaluating the injury to pinpoint a timeline for Demko’s return, it has been speculated that he will be out 2-3 weeks. That presents an opportunity for Lankinen to start the bulk of the games ahead and hopefully replicate his stellar play from the 2024-25 season. But Lankinen is ready for the task that is now presented to him:

“I’m ready to play every single game,” Lankinen said. “That’s what I love to do. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. So just got to keep preparing and help the team win.”

Lankinen signed with the Canucks late into training camp last season and was expected to share a 1A, 1B role with Arturs Silovs. However, Lankinen quickly emerged as the Canucks’ best netminder and ran with the opportunity.

The Finnish netminder won seven of his first nine starts in Vancouver and was undefeated in regulation through that point. Before Demko returned on December 10, Lankinen started the majority of the games, playing 20 to Silovs’ six. Over that stretch, Lankinen had an impressive 13-4-3 record, with a 2.65 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

Lankinen found his rhythm, which is something he hasn’t really been given the opportunity to see this season with a healthy Demko.

Before starting both Saturday and Sunday, Lankinen started six of Vancouver’s 15 games, with Demko getting all nine of the other starts. And, to be fair, it wasn’t the greatest start to Lankinen’s season. He had a 2-4 record with a 3.36 goals against average and a .880 save percentage – a significant dip from his 2024-25 numbers.

The difference could be Lankinen’s inconsistent starts. He did not make two consecutive games in a row over that span, and wasn’t able to string back-to-back good outings together. That would be the reason Canucks fans weren’t seeing the same Lankinen as they grew accustomed to seeing.

And there’s evidence of that. With Demko out for maintenance, Lankinen was asked to play back-to-back games over the weekend. His numbers may not jump off the page in those contests, finishing with a 4.03 goals against average and a .875 save percentage, but the eye test proved otherwise. Would he have liked to have Kirill Marchenko’s second goal back that trickled through him? Probably. But all things considered, the goals he allowed were not solely his fault.

Even when he came in relief after Demko left after the first period, Lankinen was the Canucks’ best player on the ice for the final 40 minutes. Coming in cold, he stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced, finishing with a 1.67 goals against average and a .952 save percentage. He looked locked in. And that’s large in part because he played 14 of the 15 periods over four nights.

A goaltender can’t get much more consistent play than that. Lankinen even acknowledged the importance of playing more consistently, which helps him get into a nightly rhythm and produce for his team on the ice:

“I think so, yeah, and probably most of the goalies would agree on that,” Lankinen shared. “The game slows down a little bit, and you make better reads when you’re in the game. The preparation gets a little easier, because, of course, you’re in the rhythm and you’re feeling it. So yeah, who knows what’s going to happen the next few days here, but learn from this and get better.”

While we still await an official timeline from the Canucks on Demko, it will be Lankinen’s crease to run with for the foreseeable future, and he’s ready for the challenge:

“Well, I feel great. The more I play, the better I feel. So that’s always what you want to do as a goalie. You want to be the guy; you want to carry the load, help the team win. I’ve been feeling really good, and hopefully we’ll get some more results here soon.”

That begins tonight when Lankinen leads his team out on the opening night of their three-game Southeastern road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes.

You can watch Lankinen’s full postgame availability after Tuesday’s loss to the Jets below: