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Reason for Kevin Lankinen's Absence From Vancouver Canucks Confirmed

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Cooper Godin
December 14, 2024  (7:21 PM)
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The Vancouver Canucks' homestand continues on Saturday night as they welcome the Boston Bruins to town for a rematch of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

However for tonight's game, the Vancouver Canucks will be without the services of Finnish netminder Kevin Lankinen after he wasn't with the team for their morning skate on Saturday.

With Kevin Lankinen not available for the morning skate, it forced General Manager Patrik Allvin to make an emergency call up of Latvian goaltender Arturs Silovs from the Abbotsford Canucks.

Many were wondering why Kevin Lankinen wasn't at the morning skate and why he won't be available tonight either as the starter or the backup, but now we know thanks to Head Coach Rick Tocchet.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen dealing with flu symptoms

When meeting with reporters after the morning skate, Rick Tocchet explained that Kevin Lankinen was told not to come to the rink today, along with defenseman Derek Forbort, as they're dealing with a flu bug that's going through the team.

"Rick Tocchet says the #Canucks have an illness going through their group right now, and that's why Forbort and Lankinen are absent and not expected to play tonight." Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet said.

It's been a great season so far for Kevin Lankinen, who signed with the team just after training camp began following weeks of rumors linking him with the Vancouver Canucks.

Back on December 1st, Lankinen set a new National Hockey League record after starting the 2024-25 season with a 10-0-0 record on the road and has been a solid option for the team since the start of the year with the absence of Thatcher Demko, who's now returned from injury.

In 21 games this season, the Helsinki native has a record of 14-4-3 with a 2.52 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and three shutouts.

We'll have to wait and see how Kevin Lankinen is feeling in the coming days and if he can be an option for the club as they wrap up their homestand on Monday night against Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche.

POLL

Should Kevin Lankinen start Monday's game against the Colorado Avalanche if he's feeling better?

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