‘My game has grown a lot’: Canucks’ Lankinen continues to prove his value

BOSTON — With Thatcher Demko getting larger by the day in his rearview mirror, Kevin Lankinen has done enough in the Vancouver Canucks’ first 20 games to be part of the team’s conversation in the crease even when the No. 1 goalie returns from injury.

As Demko closes in on day-to-day status, Lankinen had his best day as a Canuck on Tuesday, making 32 saves to allow Vancouver a smash-and-grab 2-0 win against the Boston Bruins.

Eighty years since Maurice Richard took three post-game twirls when he was named the first, second and third stars after a playoff game for the Montreal Canadiens, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet suggested Lankinen deserved the same honour.

“He was, you know, first, second and third star,” Tocchet told reporters. “He was very good tonight.

“We had some moments we wish we had back, but Lanks was awesome. What are we, 8-1 on the road? I’ve got to give the guys a lot of credit, grinding out some wins. They’re not pretty, but (over) 82 games, you’re not going to have pretty ones. So we’ll get out of here and take it.”

Lankinen was the most beautiful part of the Canucks on Tuesday, although Jake DeBrusk scoring the game-winner for Vancouver after spending the first seven seasons of his National Hockey League career with the Bruins was a wonderful subplot.

DeBrusk was a big story in Boston. Back in Vancouver, Lankinen has been the story all season.

He is now 10-3-2 in 15 starts — after playing only 24 games all of last year for the Nashville Predators — and has been the most valuable Canuck not named Quinn Hughes.

“It’s been pretty hectic, so I haven’t really had time to recap everything,” Lankinen said. “But I think, as a whole, my game has grown a lot. Marko Torenius, our goalie coach, has helped me a lot here. I think it shows on the ice. I feel calm, I feel composure. I feel like I’m tracking the puck well. So there’s a lot of good things going on. 

“But part of hockey is there’s always the next game and always the next practice. Obviously, I’m going to enjoy this one tonight. But at the same time, keep that working mentality and the big picture in mind. I think that has always been the key.”

With Demko’s return from a troublesome knee injury feeling imminent — Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told Sportsnet that the star goalie is getting close to being a game-time decision — Lankinen has not flinched in net. 

He has started 14 of the last 17 games for the Canucks. And after showing signs of wear earlier in November while playing 11 out of 12, Lankinen has re-elevated his game. He was excellent in Saturday’s 4-3 win in Ottawa, where the Senators scored twice with a man-advantage in the final four minutes, and brilliant in Boston.

“From my own perspective, I think I kind of just control the controllables, right?” he said. “Obviously, it’s a good thing for the team that Demmer’s coming back. He’s a great guy, a great goalie and he’s going to help the team a lot, for sure. But my job is just to keep focused on my own thing. Whatever happens is out of my control, so I make sure that I show up every day in practice and, whenever I get the nod, bring my A-game.”

He had his A-plus game against the Bruins.

Lankinen made a handful of big saves in the third period, especially during a pair of Boston power plays. He stopped Pavel Zacha on a backdoor play, somehow got his right pad down on Charlie Coyle’s shot from a sharp, end-boards rebound, and stopped point-blank redirects from Brad Marchand and former Canuck Elias Lindholm. He also stayed with David Pastrnak to stop the Bruins sniper on a second-period breakaway, the rebound sparking mayhem and flying bodies around the Vancouver net.

“I think that’s the part of goaltending that I always love — just scrambling and kind of throwing the technique and the structure out of the window and just trying to get something (in front of the puck),” Lankinen said. “Like I said before, I got some help from my D-core and the guys in front of me.”

With shot attempts 72-31 for Boston, Vancouver skaters blocked 28 shots. 

Asked about Lankinen’s place once Demko returns, Tocchet said: “I mean, he’s been great for us so, you know, he’s going to continue to play for us. Like he’s not going to sit on the bench. I’m nuts if I sit him on the bench. He’s been terrific. Like I said, he lives for the moment, you know, game to game. That’s what I love about him.”

DeBrusk loves that his return to Boston is over. Tuesday was the winger’s 485^th NHL regular-season game, and he said it was the “weirdest” since his first game seven years ago. And of his 144 NHL goals, the 28-year-old’s celebration of his game-winner in the second period was probably his most subdued.

Expressionless, DeBrusk glided towards the glass with his hands turned slightly upward after a rebound fell to him in the crease for a tap-in at 5:53 following Conor Garland’s deft deflection of Quinn Hughes’ shot on a power play. Garland, who is from the Boston area, later added an empty-net goal.

DeBrusk’s celebration looked almost like an apology to fans here, who saw him leave Boston last summer to sign a seven-year, $38.5-million-US contract with the Canucks.

“At that point, they just did a video for me, and they’re cheering me on,” DeBrusk explained of the awkward moment. “I’ve had lots of great memories. It’s a weird feeling because I have no ill will towards anybody, honestly. It’s just part of the way business is and part of life. I think it’d be worse if I did the one-knee down (celebration), to be honest with you.”

“I mean, it was cool that it happened, but. . . that was probably the weirdest game I’ve played since my first-ever game — my mental state. But the guys are great, kept me in it, kept cheering me on. I thought it was going to be (weird), but I try to take everything in stride as usual. That’s how I am. But. . . it’s a weird scenario.”

Something else that feels weird is that the Canucks, who have struggled mightily on home ice, have eight straight wins on the road. And even with their key injuries and absences, their struggles for consistency and cohesiveness during the season’s opening quarter, the 11-6-3 Canucks are only two points behind the 20-game pace of last year’s 50-win team. 

And they have room to grow.

They play Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.