The Canucks announced goaltender Kevin Lankinen will not travel with the team on their four-game road trip due to personal reasons, although the team didn’t clarify if he may join the club midway through. In a corresponding move, Vancouver recalled Jiří Patera from the AHL under emergency conditions after reassigning him just yesterday. They had an open roster spot, so they don’t need to free up a spot for Patera.
With Thatcher Demko still on injured reserve with a groin issue, the Canucks are now without both halves of their regular goaltending tandem. They will rely on Patera and Nikita Tolopilo, their top two minor-league options, until one of Demko or Lankinen can return. Patera had spent the past two-plus weeks as Lankinen’s backup, but the Canucks swapped him out for Tolopilo yesterday to give the latter a chance at playing time. Now, they could both be in line for starts soon with a back-to-back against the Sharks and Kings on Friday and Saturday, following tomorrow’s game against the Ducks.
Following a decent 2024-25 season in a higher-than-usual workload, Lankinen has kept up his play in 2025-26. Through 12 starts and one relief appearance, he’s 4-7-2 with a .880 SV%. Those aren’t inspiring numbers at face value, especially since his GAA has spiked from a 2.62 GAA last year to a 3.63 figure this year. A deeper look reveals Lankinen has had to contend with some of the league’s worst defensive support in front of him. Among the 40 goaltenders with at least nine appearances this season, Lankinen’s expected GAA of 3.65 ranks second-highest behind only Jeremy Swayman’s 3.68.
Combine that porous defense with untested goaltending depth, and this trip could be a disastrous one for the Canucks. Patera is inexperienced, even as No. 3 options go, and doesn’t have a promising track record in his limited NHL showings. The 26-year-old made one start during his previous call-up and was lit up for seven goals on 40 shots against the Panthers on Nov. 17. That worked out to a .825 SV%, 7.39 GAA, and -3.4 goals saved above expected. That brought down his career stat line to a 3-4-1 record, .892 SV%, and a 4.01 GAA in nine appearances. His other eight showings came with the Golden Knights in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Chaos in Rain City.