4 weeks agoVancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen stopped 37 of the 38 shots he saw en route to defeating the Minnesota Wild on Friday evening. The Canucks were heavily outshot in this contest but Lankinen was able to lead the way. His lone blemish came in the third period when Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber found the back of the net on the power-play. This outing extended Lankinen's winning streak to two games. During this stretch, he has held a strong .944 save percentage with a 1.51 GAA. Before this stretch, Lankinen held a modest 2-2-1 record over his last five games and posted a 2.65 GAA and a .894 save percentage. Fantasy managers should expect the 29-year-old to continue to see most of the starts in the Vancouver crease with Thatcher Demko (lower body) on the injured reserve. He will likely get the start again on Sunday against the Dallas Stars.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
2 months agoVancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen will get the starting nod on Monday afternoon against Team Canada. After serving as the backup in their opening contest, Lankinen got the starting nod in their previous game and picked up the victory, and will now get the opportunity to extend his streak. However, he will have a much tougher task on Monday, facing Team Canada. In his previous contest, Lankinen stopped 21 of the 24 shots he faced en route to defeating Team Sweden in overtime. Team Finland would advance to the 4 Nations Championship if they were to defeat Team Canada in regulation. Canada was able to win their first game of the tournament in overtime but fell to Team USA on Saturday evening. Lankinen is an intriguing high-upside play in DFS as he could see a high shot volume facing a high-powered Canada offense.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Elliotte Friedman
2 months agoAccording to Elliotte Friedman, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen will get the starting nod for Team Finland on Saturday afternoon. Juuse Saros started for the team in their opening game but allowed six goals on 32 shots to Team USA. Instead, Finland will turn to their backup goaltender to face Team Sweden. The 29-year-old has been enjoying a career season with the Vancouver Canucks, as he has posted a 2.53 GAA and a .905 save percentage with a 19-8-7 record. Entering the tournament, he carried a 3-1 record over his last four games. During this stretch, he allowed two goals or less in three of the contests and made at least 24 saves in two of them. Lankinen will have a tougher matchup on Saturday's slate, but he could be an intriguing contrarian play in DFS as he has enjoyed a strong season at the NHL level.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Elliotte Friedman
4 months agoVancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (illness) will not dress on Saturday against Boston. According to reports, there's a flu bug going around in the Canucks locker room, and Lankinen has caught the illness, along with defenseman Derek Forbort, who also won't play. Arturs Silovs has been brought up from the AHL to work as Thatcher Demko's backup on Saturday. After recovering from a knee injury, Demko made his season debut this week against St. Louis. He suffered a 4-3 loss in overtime, saving 21 of 25 shots. It might take a while before we see the best of Demko following his lengthy absence, but he's expected to produce a winning performance on Saturday, with Vancouver a -135 favorite in the matchup.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Jeff Paterson
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