Kevin Lankinen With Something To Prove Down The Stretch

As we have all seen, this season has not played out the way the Blackhawks expected coming in. One spot that was highlighted for the Blackhawks leading up to the season and throughout was the goalie position. The Blackhawks made an absolute blockbuster trade, trading for former Vezina trophy and Stanley Cup winner, Marc-Andre Fleury. With that trade, young netminder Kevin Lankinen was well aware that he would be taking the backup goalie spot in that situation.

Because the play of Marc-Andre Fleury was the reason for a good majority of the wins from the Blackhawks this year, Lankinen sat back and watched what he would be dealing with when out on the ice. Because the Blackhawks defense often provided little to no help, it was crucial that whoever was in net for the Blackhawks have a fantastic game for the Blackhawks to have a chance. Unfortunately for Lankinen, more often than not his level of play hasn't been enough.

Kevin Lankinen is currently sitting at a 4-10-6 record on the season. He only has two wins in his last 13 starts and has a save percentage of .888 on the year. This last little bit of the season very well could be Kevin Lankinen playing for his spot as the number 1 goalie next season. I think it would take some pretty disastrous performances from Lankinen late this season for that to happen. But it is definitely not out of the question. Although he hasn't been a world beater, Collin Delia has shown glimpses of some great goaltending at certain points this season. He's also shown some not so great glimpses, so take that for what it is worth. The point is though, the starting goalie for next season is nobody's right now, at least it shouldn't be. And even though it is awhile before the Drew Commesso wrench is thrown in the situation, that is another thing that will be here before you know it. So Kevin Lankinen is running out of time to prove that he can be a dependable NHL goalie. He has another chance to show his skills in net tonight against the Seattle Kraken.