The Canucks needed goaltending depth because Thatcher Demko is still not 100 percent recovered from the injury that he suffered in the playoffs. It's unclear whether or not Demko will be ready for the start of the season, so Arturs Silovs and Lankinen could start the year as their goaltending duo. Most recently, Lankinen was with the Predators, where he was 11-6-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .908 SV% in 24 games in 2024.
Juuse Saros (roster management) will not dress on Friday, leaving the crease to Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen was solid in his last outing, despite suffering a 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders, saving 28 of 29 shots (.966 SV%), improving his season totals to a 2.93 GAA and .905 SV%. The Predators enter action on Friday as -254 road favourites against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The red-hot Predators, riding a 13-0-2 point streak in their last 15 games, will turn to Lankinen between the pipes for only the second time in the last 10 games. Lankien has been solid when called upon, including a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in his last outing, when he saved 33 of 34 shots (.971 SV%). The Predators enter action as +159 road underdogs against the Florida Panthers.
Juuse Saros will get the night off on Tuesday as the Predators will turn to Lankinen for the first time since January 27th. Lankinen's most recent appearance came last Thursday against the Stars, when he allowed five goals on 23 shots in relief of Saros as the Predators were blown out 9-2. Lankinen owns a 6-4-0 record and an .889 SV% across 15 games this season. He draws a difficult matchup in Vegas on Tuesday, though the Predators do get the benefit of facing the Golden Knights on the tail-end of their back-to-back.
Lankinen will draw the front-end of Nashville's back-to-back in Dallas on Friday before the team travels home to host the Islanders on Saturday. Lankinen coincidentally faced the Stars his last time out, allowing three goals on 29 shots as the Predators edged a 4-3 victory. He may have a hard time producing a repeat performance on Friday with Nashville being +150 underdogs in Dallas. The Predators' backup owns a 5-3-0 record on the season along with a .901 SV% and a 3.14 GAA.
Lankinen missed Friday and Saturday's game with an illness, but was back at practice on Monday. With no back-to-back this week, it unclear if Lankinen will get a start until next week.
Lankinen, who last played on December 19th, saving 11 of 11 shots in relief of Juuse Saros, is battling an illness and will not suit up for the Predators on Wednesday. The team has recalled Yaroslav Askarov, who will serve as the backup to Saros.
The Predators are opting to defy the conventional approach to a back-to-back and give Lankinen the start on Friday, meaning Juuse Saros is likely to get the nod against the Capitals on Saturday. Lankinen took a tough-luck loss his last start on December 9th in Toronto, allowing three goals on 36 shots in the 4-0 defeat. He'll have his hands full again tonight with the Predators being +145 underdogs in Caorlina.
