The Vancouver Canucks may have to play without their starting goaltender Thatcher Demko again when they face the Nashville Predators on Friday night.
The Canucks hope Kevin Lankinen can step up once more. Demko, who missed the first 26 games of the season with a lower-body injury, left Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken in the second period due to back spasms.
“I don’t think it’s serious,” said coach Rick Tocchet. “You know the way back spasms are — it could be a day or two, I’m not sure.”
Lankinen, who helped the Canucks win 4-3 in a shootout against the Kraken, is expected to start against the Predators. Lankinen played for Nashville for two seasons before joining Vancouver as a free agent.
Though the Canucks allowed a 3-1 lead to slip away before winning in overtime, Lankinen stepped up, saving 13 of 15 shots during overtime and stopping every shot in the shootout.
“It’s a good challenge,” said Lankinen. “That’s why you prepare all day, prepare all year, prepare all summer, because you never know what’s going to happen. All the guys helped, and it’s a huge win.”
The Canucks have won only two of their last seven games (2-2-3) and are also missing top scorer Quinn Hughes, forward Elias Pettersson, and key defenseman Filip Hronek due to injuries. Playing a second game in two nights will be a challenge.
“We just have to play with energy,” said forward Conor Garland. “We have a mature group here. There are no excuses.”
The Predators are on a three-game losing streak, with their latest loss being 5-3 to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
“I thought we played more than well enough, deserved to win,” said Nashville coach Andrew Brunette. “I thought we had the ice tilted most of the game, gave up three power-play goals, (but we were) in the box way too much, especially on a night when the kill wasn’t as good as it has been.”
Nashville’s penalty problems hurt them in that game, with the Wild scoring their second power-play goal late in the second period, making it difficult for the Predators to recover.
“We wasted another good effort with just parading to the penalty box,” said Nashville forward Colton Sissons. “We’re putting the kill under duress — not to say it’s just the volume that’s the issue. … Our 5-on-5 game, it’s been pretty solid for a couple weeks, and we’re just killing ourselves. It’s frustrating.”
The Predators are near the bottom of the standings, only ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks. Their road record, 3-13-4, isn’t helping either, with three games left on this trip.
Following the suspension of forward Zachary L’Heureux for slew-footing Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon, Nashville called up forward Ozzy Wiesblatt — the 2020 first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, acquired in a trade — and defenseman Spencer Stastney from the minors.
Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was injured in the Minnesota game, opening a spot for Stastney. Wiesblatt could make his NHL debut after receiving the call-up on New Year’s Eve.
“I just broke down, crying like a baby, and it was hilarious,” Wiesblatt told the team’s website. “Super excited to be here, honestly. It’s a dream come true.”
