Lankinen allowed five goals on 32 shots (.844 SV%) for his fourth loss in five starts as he was defeated by Vegas in his last game. The 27-year-old has been solid backing up the Predators this season, with his 3-4-1 record, 2.91 GAA and .916 SV%. He will take on Arizona, who ranks 32nd in the NHL in shots per game (25.1) and 25th in goals per game (2.86).
Lankinen was incredible in his last start, stopping 48 of 49 shots (.980 SV%) in a win over the New York Islanders. The Predators' backup is having far and away his best season to date, with a 6-3-3 record, 2.27 GAA and .934 SV%. He faces the Edmonton Oilers, who lost Monday vs. Minnesota but still are lethal offensively due to their first-ranked powerplay (30.2) in the NHL.
Lankinen allowed five goals on 35 shots (.857 SV%) in his previous start against the Colorado Avalanche. The Predators' backup has been incredibly solid in limited action, posting a 2-2-0 record with his 2.60 GAA and .921 SV%. He takes on the Detroit Red Wings who ranks third last in the NHL with 28.9 shots per game but 13th in goals per game with 3.28.
Lankinen stopped all 13 of 13 shots in relief his last time between the pipes as he filled in after Jusse Saaros was pulled vs. Seattle after four goals on six shots. The Predators' backup has been great this season, with a 2-1-0 record along with his .940 SV% and 1.91 GAA. Lankinen will take on an Avalanche team that is coming off back-to-back wins over Columbus in Finland and ranks eighth in the NHL in GF/GP with 3.55 per game.
Kevin Lankinen will get the start between the pipes Saturday in Prague. He will get his first start as a Predator after posting a .901 SV% in 69 Career games played with the Chicago Blackhawks across two seasons. He will look to continue the Predators' winning ways after they won the inaugural game of the season 4-1 on Friday.
Lankinen spent his first two NHL seasons in Chicago, where he was solid in 2021 but struggled in 2022. Last season he was 8-15-6 with a 3.50 GAA and .891 SV% in 32 games. Heading to Nashville, he'll battle with Connor Ingram for the backup role behind Juuse Saros.
