There was plenty of blame to go around Tuesday in a listless 6-1 loss to the Jets and Lankinen had one of those nights to forget
When you’ve got a great game, you’re going to earn a good nickname.
How about ‘Unflappable Finn?’
Lankinen’s countrymen Sami Salo and Jarkko Ruutu lived up to that billing with the Canucks by lapping up and enjoying everything minute of their careers. Must be a Finnish thing. Good players. Great people.
Lankinen was part of the mea-culpa crowd.
He got an early indication of what was to come by denying Nikolaj Ehlers on a breakaway. However, he tried to play the puck behind the net and was out of position when Connor had a wide-open net to start his spree. And even though Lankinen stopped Adam Lowry on a short-handed breakaway with a neat poke-check, he put a Neil Pionk point shot back into the slot for Connor to easily whip home.
And just 36 seconds later, Connor sped away, got behind the defence and went to the forehand deke for his sixth career hat-trick.
So, what are we to make of all this? Lankinen wasn’t at his best but the lack of defensive support was startling. It shouldn’t affect his stature as a competent and capable stopper, especially with everything he has endured and accomplished this season.
All goalies have bad nights. The key is to make the next one better. I would bet on Lankinen.
Lankinen, 29, has never had more than a two-year commitment from an NHL club and is worthy of a considerable raise here as a pending unrestricted free agent. But how much? And for how long?
That’s where it’s going to get very interesting. The balancing act between term and salary are key components because Demko has another year remaining on his extension that carries at annual $5 million salary-cap hit. He is the designated starter, and if he backs up that status with consistency and durability, the 2023-24 Vezina Trophy finalist could seek heightened market value.
A contract comparable among proven starters is at least $8 million annually. Hellebuyck, 31, got a $8.5 million cap hit in a seven-year extension with the Jets in 2023 and Jeremy Swayman, 26, received $8.25 million in annual average value with an eight-year commitment from the Boston Bruins in October.
However, there are a dozen goalies of varying age — from 28 to 34 — and experience who currently have cap hits between $5 million and $6 million. That range could be negotiating bookends for the Canucks, who may offer Lankinen term as incentive to not swing for a salary home run.
The Canucks are open to finding a solution to retain Lankinen for good reason.
Although the undrafted Helsinki native has yet to be that guy during three NHL stops — an undisputed and proven starter after backing up workhorse Juuse Saros for 24 games in Nashville last season — he will easily surpass a career high 37 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21.
He shouldered the bulk of the workload in that 56-game, post-COVID season. The following season, he logged 32 games behind Marc-Andre Fleury.
Lankinen is already at 30 games and getting near the 50-game mark is plausible. There are 39 games remaining, and just three back-to-back tests, so splitting the cage would put him at a career high 49.
More importantly, Lankinen deserves a bigger share of the net on merit and keeping Demko from becoming overworked is a prudent guard against injury. It will also give management a better gauge of Lankinen’s long-term worth, especially down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Tuesday shouldn’t count in that assessment. It was one-off and the entire team was off.
Lankinen is having a career season and went into Tuesday’s tough test with a 16-7-6 record, 2.51 goals-against average and .906 saves percentage. He started to move the meter by winning his first 10 road starts this season to set an NHL record and surpass Glenn Hall (1965-66) and Cam Talbot (2022-23).
Lankinen has also demonstrated a vital bounce-back ability which is so crucial to determine the mental mindset and quickly return to positioning staples.
After allowing five goals on 26 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss at Montreal on Jan. 6 — two goals were deflected and one found its way through a maze of players — he responded on Saturday in Toronto. A 20-save shutout was his fourth of the season and it came complete with a series of Grade A saves on shots from high-danger areas.
And on the big Hockey Night in Canada stage, putting on that kind of show sticks in the memory banks more than what occurred Tuesday. Not just for the player but for the coach and management. And, of course, Lankinen’s agent.