The Nashville Predators Made A Massive Mistake Parting Ways With Goalie Kevin Lankinen
With star goalie Thatcher Demko still sidelined with a lower body injury, offseason signee, Kevin Lankinen, has been arguably a top 3 goalie in the NHL this season, and the Nashville Predators must be realizing their mistake in letting him go.
The 29-year-old Finnish netminder is proving that betting on yourself can be a risk, but also can have a major payoff. After spending the last two seasons with the Nashville Predators as a backup to Juuse Saros and getting only 35 starts, he was able to achieve a solid 11-6-0 record, a 2.82 goals-against average, and a .908 save percentage with one shutout. He decided to leave the comfortable back role to pursue a starting job, and the perfect fit came with the Vancouver Canucks.
«He had a solid season last year in Nashville and has the size and skill set we like in a netminder. We look forward to getting him here to start working with our group.»
This season, he is now proving that he can be a bonified and elite starter in the NHL, and we think, even if Demko returns, Lankinen will keep the starting role until he loses it.
Holding a 6-0-2 record, with a minimum of 5 starts this season, he leads all goalie with a 2.09 goals against average, is 5th in save percentage (.923 S%), and ties for 2nd in wins (6).
Right now, Connor Hellebuyck is the top goalie in the league,, but by the way Lankinen has performed, he is 100% in the running for the earl season Vezina..
