The Canucks are recalling goaltender Jiri Patera from AHL Abbotsford, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. He’s coming up while Nikita Tolopilo takes a brief leave of absence from the club for the birth of his child. Vancouver doesn’t have an open roster spot, but they can move Tolopilo to the non-roster list to make one.
It’s the second time a Vancouver netminder has left the team for personal reasons in the last several days. Kevin Lankinen departed the team on Nov. 25 and missed two games before returning to start against the Kings on Saturday.
Lankinen, Patera, and Tolopilo have been holding the fort in patchwork fashion while Thatcher Demko remains unavailable due to a groin strain. He carries a week-to-week designation and hasn’t played since Nov. 11. His return is still not imminent, and he hasn’t joined the team’s road trip as they wrap it up Tuesday in Colorado, Dhaliwal said.
Lankinen, Demko’s uncontested backup, has seen the vast majority of action during that time. His leave of absence meant Tolopilo got his first two starts of the season last week, though. He faced 65 shots in a win and a loss against the Ducks and Sharks, making 58 saves for a .892 SV%. That was good for 1.3 goals saved above expected behind a taxing defensive workload, per MoneyPuck, a tick more than what Lankinen has provided in 14 appearances this season.
Now, Patera is back to serving as Lankinen’s backup after two previous stints on the active roster in November. His lone start this season came in a wild 8-5 loss to the Panthers on Nov. 17 in which he allowed seven goals on 40 shots for a .825 SV% and -3.4 GSAx. The 26-year-old has been better but not particularly promising in Abbotsford, where he has a .899 SV% and 2.89 GAA in six appearances with a 2-2-2 record. He’ll be headed back there as soon as Tolopilo rejoins the team or Demko is cleared to play, whichever comes first.