The Canucks already have enough injured guys. They don’t seem to be sweating Kevin Lankinen.
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Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen has the second-best road record in the NHL. Will he start again Wednesday in Calgary after playing Tuesday? Photo by John Locher (AP Photo/John Loc /AP
Another day, another question mark gets marked down next to a key Vancouver Canuck.
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In a report published Tuesday by Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, the veteran reporter revealed that goalie Kevin Lankinen is dealing with a “minor” injury.
Beyond that, we don’t know much more, since head coach Rick Tocchet wasn’t asked about Lankinen’s status until after the game — there were no reporters present for the morning skate at the Islanders’ suburban rink — and Tocchet said that the veteran could have backed up Wednesday against the Islanders, but they opted for Arturs Silovs instead.
Fair enough … though given that Lankinen apparently wasn’t 100 per cent last Saturday and then didn’t backup on Monday, I think it’s understandable if fans are feeling a little anxious going into Friday’s game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Lankinen, logic tells us, should be the goalie for the Canucks Friday in Columbus. If he’s not at least on the bench, oh boy.
Fans are anxious, because this season has had enough twists and turns in it already, the latest being a spat of injuries to key players like Quinn Hughes (grinding it out but nowhere near 100 per cent), Elias Pettersson the centre (out, back in Vancouver, maybe with a hurt arm?), Filip Chytil (in concussion protocol, status unknown) and Nils Höglander (no idea what his injury is but sources suggest he could be a while).
It’s all very harrowing. This feels like penance for last season, when almost everything that could go right did go right. That said, Tocchet hasn’t been known for dissembling about his players’ health. His timelines, when he’s given them, have been accurate.
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So if he says Lankinen should be ready to go if needed on Friday, he’s generally meant that.
Power outage
Suddenly the power play is struggling.
The Canucks have now gone four games in a row without a power-play goal.
And they gave up a short-handed goal to the Islanders.
Admittedly not having Elias Pettersson available hurts a lot.
But they still have potent attackers in Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk, Pius Suter, Conor Garland and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. They should be able to make a decent recipe out of that.
How much longer for Lou?
Lou Lamoriello is a legit NHL legend.
The guy built an incredibly consistent, top-end organization in New Jersey. They were among the league’s best for years.
And he was an unknown in pro hockey in 1987, when he was hired by the Devils. He was a big deal in college hockey, though.
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And from 1988 to 2012, the Devils missed the playoffs just three times. They won the Stanley Cup three times. It was a stunning run.
He moved to the Maple Leafs in 2015. His first season was the final year of three where the Leafs missed the playoffs. They’ve made the playoffs every years since.
He took over the Islanders in 2018 and they’ve missed the playoffs just once in that time. During the bubble playoffs, they made the conference finals.
But this season feels different. The Islanders under coach Patrick Roy can’t score. They may miss the playoffs because of this.
Lou has a lot of loyalty. But his roster is old and the prospect pool is very underwhelming.
So where does this organization go? Is Lou the future?
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