Lankinen makes NHL debut against Panthers
The Chicago Blackhawks said before the season that their three young goaltenders will get an audition — and it turns out it took only four games for each to get a look.
Kevin Lankinen was set to make his NHL debut for the Blackhawks on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers.
“He hasn’t had a chance yet, so we want to give him the opportunity,” coach Jeremy Colliton said before the game. “We’ve said we want to look at all three guys and we’ll let their performance dictate where they go from here. But we’re excited to see him.”
Asked about how Lankinen has looked in recent practices, Colliton said, “He has looked sharp, he’s looked good, he wants the chance and it’s his turn.”
Brandon Hagel also was scheduled to make his first start of the season while fourth-liner Matthew Highmore sat.
Hagel’s call-up last season was limited to one game because of the COVID-19 shutdown.
Colliton said there’s no set plan for when players will get opportunities during a rebuilding season.
“We definitely haven’t mapped it out like that,” he said. “We have a new discussion every game. Certainly, there’s an overall plan that we want to give different guys opportunities, and we want to reward them when they do a good job and give them more responsibility. If it looks like it’s too much, then maybe we’ll pull back.”
Malcolm Subban started the season opener in net against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Collin
Delia started the next two games against the Lightning and Panthers. Both goalies gave up five goals in each of their starts.
Colliton said he would “let it play out” when Lankinen would get his shot.
At 25, the 6-foot-2, 185pound native of Helsinki is the youngest of the three contenders to replace Corey Crawford.
Lankinen had a .909 save percentage and 3.03 goals-against average in 21 games for the Rockford IceHogs last season.
During training camp, Lankinen said he was fortunate to see a lot of pucks in his native Finland during the shutdown.
“I was lucky, back home in Finland I was able to skate throughout this whole time (off ), so it was a good time for me to work on my game, actually elevate my game to the next level,” he said earlier this month.
Mobility is an element of his game he has worked on improving.
“I’m trying to be more up on my skates instead of out-of-line sliding,” Lankinen said. “I try to beat the pass with my feet, try to be more upright a little bit. I try to rely on that quickness in my feet and get set before the shot comes.”