Canucks Coffee: Why Kevin Lankinen matters, how Tyler Myers ...

It’s raining. It’s pouring. So keep the coffee brewing.

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You’re going to need a fresh brew or two to assess the atmospheric river deluge that has turned our streets into rivers and roads into lakes. However, save a soothing and savoury sip for what we saw in Philadelphia on Saturday. It won’t make the rain go away, but maybe help mend the mind for a few minutes.

Once again, Kevin Lankinen backstopped a victory with a cool and calm demeanour and battle-tested technique to frustrate the Flyers in a 3-0 triumph. And, of course, it poses the question: Who gets the start Tuesday in Chicago?

If it’s really a win-and-you’re-in thought process, then Lankinen will face the Blackhawks to end the four-game trip. Right, coach?

“It’s still three days away, so we’ll see,” a diplomatic and smiling Rick Tocchet said post game. “I mean he’s playing great and I’ve got to play the guy. He has been unreal. I like his composure and he’s good at just stopping pucks.

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“We’ve got good goaltending and it’s still early, but he’s put three good games together and just looks really solid. Even when we were running around, he looked big in the net. Not flip-flopping, just really steady.

“It’s a huge acquisition. He hasn’t had a bad start and has been a factor in every game.”

So, here we go. Drink up and enjoy.

Kevin Lankinen plays puck behind his net during pre-season game in Edmonton on Sept. 30. It’s one of his strengths. Photo by Leila Devlin /Getty ImagesFIRST SERVING: Lankinen: ‘Just trying to keep my head cool, working on mind game’

Goalies can be quirky by nature. It often comes with the territory in an occupation that we really don’t quite understand.

You’re either a hero or zero — especially in the minds of rabid fans — so you better have a mechanism to stay centred and understand the ebb and flow of any season. It’s not easy. After all, win and you keep the net. Keep losing and there are always alternatives.

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Some stoppers are superstitious and take a Zen-like approach into equipment preparation and the sequence in which they dress. Many don’t talk on game days.

It’s early, but the 29-year-old Lankinen seems to be cut from a different cloth. The unrestricted free agent came here on a team-friendly, one-year US$875,000 contract to keep the Canucks competitive while Thatcher Demko heals and Arturs Silovs pines for more net time.

Maybe it’s a Finnish thing. They have a zest for life and former Canucks like Sami Salo and Jarkko Ruutu were fun loving and effective players. They weren’t easily rattled.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen warms up before the start of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. Photo by Wilfredo Lee /AP

“I try not to be too high or low and just keep that even keel and focus on what I can do every day,” said Lankinen. “If the results follow, that’s great. But it’s staying patient and confident and following my process and following the grind here. That’s the key. Play well every night and it doesn’t really change my mindset.

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“The team is showing trust in my game to showcase my talent and help the team win.”

We shouldn’t be shocked by this educated approach. Lankinen was more than just a capable backup to Juuse Saros in Nashville. And players know. They may not know the nuances of the position, but they know what it’s like to play in front of a guy who’s ready and reliable.

“One thing I noticed in practice is that he’s incredibly quick,” Tyler Myers said of Lankinen. “And when you see some of the saves he makes during the game, he’s just as fast with his reads.

“I don’t know a lot about goalies, but he’s making big saves for us and showed it tonight. They were getting some Grade A (shots) in the second, when we let our foot off the gas. He was a big part of tonight.”

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PHILADELPHIA, Kiefer Sherwood #44 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second period at the Wells Fargo Center on October 19, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mitchell Leff /Getty ImagesSECOND SERVING: Myers: ‘A big structure guy. No wondering. It makes my life easier.’

The road to 1,000 career NHL games is seldom a straight-line drive to that significant sign post. There are twists and turns, bumps and potholes and even hitting the ditch.

The towering Myers has gone from doubtful to dependable, from salary-cap drag anchor to affordable and from being tagged an error-prone ‘Chaos Giraffe’ to career renaissance.

Myers, 34, is not only coming off a solid 2023-24 season with 29 points (5-24), a calmness and presence led to a three-year, US$9 million extension in the off-season for the unrestricted free agent. It wasn’t a hard sell on either side and today you see a dependable and durable 6-foot-8 defender who only missed nine games in the previous three seasons.

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That says something and so does 1,000 games.

“It’s pretty cool,” Myers said Saturday. “I’m excited to be in this room and the guys have got pretty close. It makes me feel old (chuckles).”

The manner in which Myers first learned to embrace the game is as good a story as his longevity. It was love at first sight but some tough transitional love, too.

He was 10 years old when his family moved from Houston to Calgary. He caught the hockey bug after attending a Houston Aeros game but making a major impression in minor hockey was an eye-opener.

“In tryouts, they would place you in a certain division that they thought you were around and they would usually filter them out,” Myers told Postmedia. “I started pretty low. It went by numbers for divisions and I started at No. 10 or something like that.

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 “I was on the ice that day for four hours and quite tired.”

Teddy Blueger #53 speaks with Tyler Myers #57 of the Vancouver Canucks against the Florida Panthers during the first periodat Amerant Bank Arena on October 17, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. Photo by Carmen Mandato /Getty Images

However, the drive in Myers was evident early. He graduated to the WHL with the powerhouse Kelowna Rockets, a hockey factory for budding NHL blueliners like Shea Weber, Alex Edler, Josh Morrissey, Scott Hannan, Luke Schenn and Tyson Barrie.

Myers was selected 12th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL draft and captured the Calder Trophy with 48 points (11-37). What works for Myers isn’t complicated. It’s breaking down the game for a simple understanding of where and when to go.

“I’m a big structure guy and most of the guys are,” he stressed. “There is just no guessing in the game right now. I’m not wondering where I’m supposed to be or do in any situation. It makes life a whole lot easier.

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“Adam Foote (assistant coach) has been amazing. A guy I’ve really leaned on. The whole coaching dynamic is a big reason why we’ve even able to turn it around so quickly. You can tell guys are really benefiting from him. It’s just the way he communicates. It’s awesome.”

A big challenge for any big guy is to find clothes and shoes that fit. What is Myers’ go-to move?

“I order a lot of pants,” he said. “Really tough to find (36- to 38-inch lengths). “I’m a size 13 shoe as well, so it’s not too crazy there, but I do order. Every once in a while, I head to Nike or something like that.”

Dakota Joshua suffered a hand injury during vengeful bout with Blackhawks forward MacKenzie Entwistle on Feb. 13. Photo by Erin Hooley /APTHIRD SERVING: Tocchet on Joshua: ‘When he comes back, it’s like a major trade.’

Dakota Joshua took the game-day skate Saturday in a non-contact jersey.

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Significance of the sighting was not lost on anybody because, quite frankly, the Canucks have been little light and lost in a directive to play through the opposition, win board battles and establish a net-front presence. Joshua, 28, checks all those boxes and is well on the road to recovery from an off-season testicular cancer diagnosis.

The big left winger is coming off a career season and is armed a with a four-year, $13 million extension and plenty of incentive. He hit career highs for goals (18), assists (14) and points (32) in just 63 games in 2023-24.

Joshua was also ninth overall in hits with 244 and fourth among club forwards with 40 blocks. He added eight points (4-4) in 13 playoff games and was third overall with 74 hits.

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On a ‘Meat and Potatoes’ third line with Teddy Blueger and Conor Garland — Joshua was the meat, Blueger the potato and Garland the gravy — the trio played with pace and push. A direct north-south responsible game resonated with Tocchet.

“He wins corner battles and is one of our best net-front guys, so when he comes back, it’s like having a major trade,” said the bench boss Saturday. “When he does it (plays through people), it’s contagious and we need a little bit more of that. It’s been a slow start and our walls haven’t been good. Stuff where we’re taking off when we should be hanging in there.

“That’s the one thing Dakota brings. He battles. If he’s pain free, I don’t know how many practices.”

And that’s where it gets interesting because Joshua is capable of moving up the lineup. And with mixed results on the left side in top-six mix newcomers Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen — and also experimenting with Nils Hoglander’s familiarity to get Elias Pettersson going — Joshua is going to get his looks once he gets up to game speed.

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Then again, it might be hard to break up a line that works so well. The combination of compete and camaraderie is hard to beat.

“We probably wouldn’t have met if it wasn’t for hockey,” Joshua has said of Garland. “We just take little digs at each other. He’s been in the league a while and has the good setup with a beautiful home and me trying to aspire to get there. And he’ll get chatty on the plane. Sometimes, I have to shut him out.”

Garland would laugh at that.

“We’re pretty close friends,” he said. “He’s a good guy and what you look for in a linemate.”

Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua, Feb. 11, 2024 Photo by Patrick Smith /Getty Images

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