The Vancouver Canucks are blessed to have a goaltender between the pipes right now like Kevin Lankinen as he's saved them quite a bit this season in absence of Thatcher Demko.
Lankinen signed with the Vancouver Canucks a few days after training camp began, following weeks of rumors, which led to a one-year deal worth $875,000.
Kevin Lankinen's start to the 2024-25 season has been remarkable, especially on the road and it seems like no one around the league is talking about it.
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet turned to Kevin Lankinen for a Black Friday matinee with the Buffalo Sabres as the team continued their six-game road trip.
Thanks to a Conor Garland overtime goal and 31 saves from Kevin Lankinen, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 4 to 3, moving to 3-1-0 on their road trip.
With the win, Kevin Lankinen has now started the season with a 10-0-0 record on the road, putting himself into some pretty elite company in National Hockey League history.
According to Sportsnet Stats, the Helsinki, Finland native joins Glenn Hall (1965-66) and Cam Talbot (2023-24) as the only goaltenders in NHL history to start a season with a 10-0-0 record on the road.
In 16 games this season, Kevin Lankinen has a record of 11-3-2 with a 2.57 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and two shutouts.
It's hard to imagine where the Vancouver Canucks would be right now without Kevin Lankinen and while he might be relegated to the backup role once Thatcher Demko returns, he's certainly put the team in a good position in the first quarter of the 2024-25 season.
Lankinen will look to extend that road winning streak to 11 games on Sunday as the Canucks take on the Detroit Red Wings at 9:30 am PT/12:30 pm ET on Sportsnet Pacific and Sportsnet One.
POLL | ||
Will Kevin Lankinen extend his road record to 10-0-0 on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings? | ||
Yes | 222 | 95.3 % |
No | 11 | 4.7 % |
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