It’s been a rough start to the season for Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen, who owns an NHL-worst save percentage of .808.
The 31-year-old netminder allowed five goals on 22 shots - a .773 save percentage - in Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, which dropped his record on the season to 1-8-0.
Lankinen’s save percentage is 56th in the league this season among goaltenders who have appeared in a least five games. Montreal Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes is 55th with a .853 save percentage, which sits well above Lankinen’s mark.
Additionally, Lankinen’s 6.03 goals-against average, an improved number after Thursday, is the fifth-worst mark in NHL history for a netminder in their first nine games of the season. It’s the outright worst mark since Vincent Tremblay owned a 6.06 GAA to open the 1979-80 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lankinen’s poor start can be in part be blamed on the Vancouver’s defensive struggles, especially on the penalty kill. The Ducks went 3-for-3 with the man advantage on Thursday, dropping the Canucks’ success rate to 63.2 per cent - the second-worst mark in the league behind only the Los Angeles Kings (61.5 per cent).
“There was good push there, and I thought we actually played a pretty tight game in terms of 5-on-5 at least,” Canucks winger Jake DeBrusk said after the team’s latest loss. “Obviously, special teams were the difference tonight.
“We’re taking penalties in the offensive zone, hooking, holdings, just bad penalties at bad times, and it’s costing us. It’s cost us the whole year, and that’s on everyone in the room.”
Tuesday’s loss dropped the last-place Canucks to 3-13-1. The Chicago Blackhawks (4-10-1) are the only other team with less than 10 points this season and have two games in hand on Vancouver.
The rebuilding Canucks have leaned heavily on Lankinen as Thatcher Demko remains sidelined from the hip surgery he underwent in January. Demko is expected to be sidelined until at least Christmas, leaving the Canucks with Lankinen and waiver claim Leevi Merilainen as their options in net.
Merilainen is 2-5-1 this season with a .897 save percentage and a 3.31 GAA after being claimed from the Ottawa Senators ahead of the season.
Lankinen went 11-27-5 last season with a .875 save percentage and a 3.70 GAA after a strong 2024-25 campaign that saw him go 25-15-10 with a .902 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA.
The Helsinki, Finland native inked a five-year, $22.5 million contract during the 2024-25 season and carries a cap hit of $4.5 million through the 2029-30 campaign.