Vancouver Canucks goalie Lankinen holds impressive all-time NHL record
Thatcher Demko has enjoyed a remarkable start to the season, but let’s not forget about Kevin Lankinen.
The Finnish netminder has won two games for the Vancouver Canucks this season, with both of those victories coming in a shootout.
If the game gets to the shootout, there isn’t a goalie you’d rather have in net than Lankinen.
That’s not just opinion either. It’s what the NHL record books are saying.
After another perfect performance in the shootout against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, Lankinen etched his name atop the NHL record books.
The Finnish netminder is perfect in shootouts this season, stopping all seven shots he’s faced. He now has the best shootout save percentage in NHL history (minimum of 10 games played).
Lankinen has the best shootout save percentage in NHL history (NHL.com)
In his NHL career, he’s stopped 38 of 44 shootout attempts.
“He’s a guy who always wants shootouts,” Jake DeBrusk said following the Canucks win against St. Louis. “He practices it a lot.”
Lankinen isn’t the only Canucks goaltender who’s excelled in shootouts. Eddie Lack ranks fifth all-time in terms of shootout save percentage, and Thatcher Demko is statistically the next-best active goaltender in terms of stopping pucks in the proverbial skills competition.
“Lanks is a true pro, and so is Demmer,” Adam Foote said after the win in St. Louis.
“They study the shooters, they study the game. It’s no fluke that he did what he did tonight.”
The Canucks, Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers are the only teams in the NHL this season with more than one shootout win. Perhaps that’s not a surprise, as Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson and Sens goalie Linus Ullmark are two of the best shootout goalies in the league as well.
Dating back to last season, the Canucks five shootout wins are tied for fifth-most in the NHL.
The Canucks might not have many competitive advantages, based on their middling record and goal-scoring issues, but the shootout is one area where they seem to have an edge over most teams.