Patrick Johnston: Kevin Lankinen is playing well but isn’t the No. 1. Thatcher Demko is the No. 1 but isn’t playing well. Go figure.
Remember Luongo vs. Schneider? Miller vs. Lack? Essensa vs. Potvin? Hirsch vs. McLean? Gamble vs. McLean?
In Vancouver, it’s a tale as old as time — the backup is playing very well and the No. 1 is not.
And that’s where the current edition seems to find itself.
If the Canucks are going to stay in this playoff chase — assuming that Calgary doesn’t … wait for it … flame out — they are going to need outstanding goaltending. The kind of goaltending they have been used to getting from Demko.
But Demko’s average play hasn’t been enough. The Canucks haven’t played well in front of him, but they’ve played well enough some nights that in past years Demko would have bailed them out a couple times and they’d have a couple more wins because of it.
And that’s the rub in all this. The Canucks really need their guy to be the guy.
Former goalie and current president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford is focused on the play of his star forwards at the moment — there’s a rift, he acknowledged to the Globe and Mail on Tuesday, further confirmation of what everyone has been reporting for weeks — so you can’t help but think he’s watching what has gone on with his goalies as well.
Rutherford knows well the importance of getting quality starts. Look at all three of his cup winners: — they were powered by solid performances from his netminders. In both Pittsburgh and in Carolina, he saw his team win through surprising performances in goal.
In Carolina, youngster Cam Ward supplanted Martin Gerber and backstopped the Hurricanes to their championship in 2006.
In Pittsburgh, he had a true star in Marc-Andre Fleury, but the veteran was sidelined with a concussion and the Penguins got a massive performance from then-backup Matt Murray in 2016. Fleury and Murray split duties a year later for Rutherford’s second Penguins cup.
The moral is obvious: You need a goalie who has a hot hand. If you’ve got two, even better.
In terms of Canucks history, this isn’t Luongo vs. Schneider, where each was equally capable and at the peak of their powers at basically the same moment. Nor is it Essensa vs. Potvin, where Backup Bob was outplaying Felix The Cat, but neither was playing all that well to begin with and both were supplanted by Dan Cloutier.
It is a little bit like both of the McLean controversies: Captain Kirk was well established as the Canucks’ top netminder when Troy Gamble finally broke into the NHL full-time in 1990-91. McLean had been a Vezina finalist in 1989, but stumbled badly the next season and Gamble supplanted him as the Canucks’ first-choice for a time, but he hardly thrived in the role.
Corey Hirsch had more talent that Gamble when he pushed McLean into a job-share in 1995-96, but his mental health proved insurmountable and that controversy fizzled out.
Lankinen’s play has been solid. But we also have seen him struggle when the load gets too big. So the idea of him going on a long run of starts isn’t likely either.
The Canucks aren’t losing because of Demko, but they do need him to steal a few games.
And yes, also, bless the bizarreness of the NHL free agent market for Kevin Lankinen having still been available last September.