Canucks’ Kevin Lankinen out day-to-day with upper-body injury

The march to the end of the season got a little bit more challenging for the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, as the hockey club announced that goaltender Kevin Lankinen was out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The news comes after Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth, in which depth netminder Jiří Patera was a late emergency callup from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks in the hours before puck drop. 26-year-old Belarusian netminder, Nikita Tolopilo, started the game for his 18th of the season, turning away 23 shots of the Mammoth’s 29. 

Lankinen, 30, has not played for the Canucks since making 30 stops on 36 shots in Vancouver’s thrilling 8-6 victory over the league-leading Colorado Avalanche on April 1. That performance marked his 44th game of the year, a team-high among the four netminders the Canucks have leaned on this season. 

The Finnish backstop has amassed a .875 save percentage over his showings and is credited with nine wins, 26 losses and five overtime defeats. When the game reaches a shootout, he has been exceptional as well, stopping all 17 of the shootout attempts he has faced this season. 

While Vancouver’s goaltending has not led to success in the NHL, Lankinen earned an Olympic bronze medal this season as a member of Finland’s team at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, where he served as a backup to Juuse Saros in all five games. 

Through Lankinen’s NHL career, he has amassed an .898 save percentage through 207 games spread across time with the Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators. 

Already having clinched the 32nd spot in the NHL standings, and therefore the best odds for the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Canucks have six games remaining in the regular season, starting with Tuesday’s penultimate home date against the Vegas Golden Knights.