Canucks’ Kevin Lankinen Makes His Debut vs. Kraken Tonight – The Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks will showcase their new signing tonight against the Seattle Kraken as Kevin Lankinen will wear the blue and green for the first time. Head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed Thursday (September 26) at his media availability that Arturs Silovs will start Saturday against the Calgary Flames (from ‘Canucks: Kevin Lankinen expected to start in goal Friday vs. Seattle’, Province9/27/24). This will be the second time the Canucks meet the Kraken after they beat them 3-1 on Tuesday (September 24) with the power of Nils Hoglander, Filip Hronek and Pius Suter.

Setting the Stage – Canucks (2-0-0) vs. Kraken (0-2-0)

The Canucks come into this game riding high after a late comeback and overtime win over the Flames on Wednesday (September 25). Daniel Sprong tied it at three on a solo run when he danced all over the Flames and Jake DeBrusk finished it off in overtime after a spectacular three-way play between himself, Quinn Hughes, and Elias Pettersson. The Kraken, meanwhile, haven’t played a game since Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Canucks and will look to put together a better effort than their home opener when they were thrashed 6-1 by the Flames.

Canucks Projected Lineup

The Canucks didn’t have a morning skate today, so we’re going out of their practice squad on Thursday. According to Jeff Paterson, we will see a good veteran lineup that includes JT Miller, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Jake DeBrusk, Conor Garland, Tyler Myers, Nils Hoglander and Danton Heinen. That means we’re likely to see a projected starting lineup of Heinen, Miller, and Boeser and a new winger of Pettersson and DeBrusk. Two-thirds of the third line can also be displayed with the Garland and Hoglander parts of the festivals.

Kraken Projected Lineup

The Kraken caught a skate this morning, and broadcaster Mike Benton tweeted these lines:

Morning skate lines vs Vancouver, 9/27:

Schwartz-Stephenson-Bjorkstrand
Tolvanen-Wright-Eberle
Nyman-Meyers-Biro
Roed-Stephens-Winterton

Evans-Larsson
Places to stay in Oleksiak-Montour
Mahura/Lajoie (rotating)

OK
That’s right #SeaKraken

— Mike Benton (@Benton_Mike) September 27, 2024

So it looks like the Canucks will be facing a mix of NHL and American Hockey League players this time around as they will be up against new Kraken forward Chandler Stephenson and Canuck killer Jordan Eberle. They will face Joey Daccord again for the second time after playing part of the first game on Tuesday.

Storylines To Watch

Kevin Lankinen Makes His Debut

As mentioned above, Lankinen is expected to make his preseason debut with the Canucks after signing as a free agent on September 21. The player had been training in Finland and arrived in Vancouver on Monday (Sept. 22). He stated that he is ready to leave on Thursday and that he enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Silovs and Thatcher Demko, he said, “I am ready to leave.” I’ve been preparing all summer. Working out. Conditioning. I feel better than ever. So I’m ready to go.”

Silovs is sticking with him right now, but if Lankinen has a good game against the same Kraken as Silovs has been stonewalled on Tuesday, then the competition will open up as to who will start Game 1 against the Flames.

First Look at Heinen, Miller & Boeser’s Proposed Main Line

We haven’t seen the projected top line of Heinen, Miller and Boeser yet, but we might tonight. At his media availability Thursday, he didn’t exactly confirm that he would be on the roster, but considering he skated with Heinen and Boeser in practice, I think we can expect to see him play.

Related: Canucks Preseason Notebook: Sprong, Hoglander, Silovs, Raty & More

“Obviously I’m ready to play. The preseason has never been better, let’s be honest. I’m just trying to worry about my habits and get those in the right spots and hopefully in Game 6 we’ll play really well with a full team and it’ll get better as it goes on. But I’ll be in soon.”

The trio looked good in training camp and the blue-white scrimmage, so it should be an interesting lineup to watch in this game. Heinen has the motor power and projection to thrive with Miller and Boeser and could see another breakout season if he stays consistent throughout the campaign.

With Jonathan Lekkerimaki coming off back-to-back games, he will not play tonight along with Pettersson and DeBrusk. That means heavy hitter and Dakota Joshua actor Kiefer Sherwood will get a chance to star with the duo. He certainly brings something different to the line considering he doesn’t block a check or back away from physical trouble. If someone runs at Pettersson in this game, they better be ready for number 44 to be on their face.

What’s next for the Canucks?

The Canucks are in another back-to-back situation as they head to Calgary on Saturday for another pre-season game against the Flames. They defeated their Pacific Division rivals 4-3 in overtime when they last met on Wednesday in Abbotsford.