Kevin Lankinen to replace Juuse Saros in goal for Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off vs. Sweden
'We have three good goalies,' Pennanen said after practice Friday. 'It's a good situation for us. Juuse, I think he was really good the first 40 minutes, but 6-1, so we need to do something. And Kevin, he has played good games lately, so that was behind that decision.'
Saros' struggles stretched into the 4 Nations from his rough half-season-plus in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. The 29-year-old has lost 29 of his 41 starts, ranks 38th among goalies with a 2.95 goals-against average 33rd with an .899 save percentage.
Asked how he would evaluate his performance against the U.S., Saros said: 'Obviously you always want to help your team even more on games like that.'
Saros' new, eight-year, $61.92 million contract does not even kick in until next season.
Lankinen is 19-8-7 for the Vancouver Canucks with a 2.53 GAA and a .905 save percentage, making just above the league minimum at $875,000. A late bloomer who was never drafted, he grinded through minor leagues in Finland and North America before breaking through.
'I feel like there's still more — a lot more — to accomplish, so many more levels to step up to, and I feel like every single season so far has been good progress,' Lankinen said. 'Some of the pieces are coming together, but at the same time I recognize there is so much more to achieve.'
Pennanen hinted at making other lineup changes after scratching Kaapo Kakko and Juuso Valimaki on Thursday night but would not reveal much. Valimaki said he was not playing.
'Could be, but tomorrow you will know about those,' Pennanen said. "Again, 6-1, I think you need to do something but I know more exactly tomorrow, and those changes are public tomorrow.'
Canada's Makar sick
No. 1 defenseman Cale Makar should play for Canada against the U.S. on Saturday night after missing practice with an illness.
'Expect is a big word, but I'm confident," coach Jon Cooper told reporters in Brossard, Quebec. "I'm confident he'll be there.'
Canada is down to just six healthy defensemen after losing Shea Theodore to injury midway through the second period against Sweden on Wednesday night and getting ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. Travis Sanheim is replacing Theodore in the lineup.
Up front, Sam Bennett is expected to go in for Travis Konecny. Cooper formed a line of all three players he coaches with the Tampa Bay Lightning — Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel — with Bennett centering Brad Marchand and Seth Jarvis.
Sullivan coy on changes
If the U.S. is making any changes, coach Mike Sullivan isn't telling.
'We always consider lineup changes," Sullivan said Friday.
Sullivan gave his players the day off after beating Finland. Chris Kreider and Jake Sanderson were the healthy scratches against Finland, but winning so convincingly might lead the staff to stick with the same 12 forwards and six defensemen.
One noticeable in-game adjustment — beyond putting brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk together and watching them run roughshod over the Finns — was with the D-pairs, putting Noah Hanifin with Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber.
'We had our reasons on why we switched them up," Sullivan said. "I'm not going to get into what those reasons are, specifically. But we just felt that we wanted to affect a little bit of change amongst the pairs back there. We thought it would give us a better opportunity to get potentially advantageous matchups and give us a better chance to win. That inevitably is why we did it.'
___
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Claggett would skate with the team once a week, and Lee another time. They worked on lengthening his stride to match his longer legs, his efficiency with his arm movement and also moving his feet more and the puck quicker — and trusting that he'd get it back. Lee said he enjoyed picking her brain about things that he could take into practice. Once the growth spurts slowed and three inches a year turned to one inch a year, his skating really started to come, and the results showed. In the agility testing for the prospects at the Chipotle All-American Game, he ranked near the top. 'It was something that he worked on, that he was mindful of, and it's something that he's continuing to grow into,' Brandt said of Lee's skating. 'He has continued to adapt to his growth while continuing to work on his skating. Just in a year, his foot speed improved noticeably.' Last season, he also worked hard with Madison's strength and conditioning coach Jason Johnson. Together, they didn't just maintain his weight in season (usually the goal), but actually managed to add five pounds. The coaching staff at MSU noticed it right away (that he was thicker in the shoulders and filling out) when he arrived on campus following Predators development camp earlier this summer. The results showed in the testing at the NHL Scouting Combine, too. He finished first in vertical jump (with a standing vertical jump of 25.67 inches), 13th in the no arm vertical jump, 10th in left-hand grip (151 pounds) and tied for 14th in pullups with 12. 'I get his skating needs to come, but look out,' DeMichiel said. 'I don't think he's done growing either. Unreal kid, too. Great energy to him. He adores the game.' Advertisement He has also always been 'a competitive little guy,' according to Ward, which has helped him mitigate against his size and skating at different points in his career. Ward said that Shattuck actually got lucky that he was as small as he was because the players who have his skill and also more physical stature at an early age have 'everybody in the world wanting them.' 'It was a blessing that he started out as a little guy. And now that he's moving on out into the big, real hockey world, he has been blessed again, and he has had a growth spurt. Because he's not afraid of the gym,' Wars said. 'He's a strong kid, a farmer strong kid. He's wiry strong. He can hold his own, and he can hang. He's a good athlete. He's got good explosiveness. And he's losing his heavy feet. Now that he's getting stronger in his legs and his core, he can lift them up, and set them down, and get back, and cut and stop and start.' Because of that development, Ward said Nightingale and his staff are now the lucky ones. '(Nightingale) has got a good player. And he's a wonderful kid. He gets it. Like the tortoise does win the race and he has just had to stick with it,' Ward said. 'He's just a rink rat, throwback kind of kid. If he could be up at the rink all day long, whether it's on the ice or just in the dressing room, or training, or laughing, or just shooting the breeze with his buddies, he would be. He's just a rat, and in the greatest, most affectionate, most competitive way. (He's) a really good teammate, and he plays his ass off, and he has finally grown. And I'm so happy for him because he is a completely different person.' The Predators will be the next lucky ones. 'I was telling all of the guys from the (NHL) when they were calling and asking questions about him, if you don't take him when you have the chance to take him, you're going to be kicking yourself in four or five years because this kid's going to be ripping it up,' Ward said. Advertisement In that way, Ward thinks Lee's metamorphosis actually helped his development 'because it's almost a curse if you're a young kid and you're already the fastest skater or the biggest kid and you don't develop things in your game that are nuanced-based that are in your brain and your soul.' 'He came into his love of the game as a little guy and learned how to manipulate his way through the trees,' Ward said. 'And now he's a good, big average-sized kid, and he can handle his own, and I'm sure he's loving being on the other side of a few checks here.' Ask Brandt and Ward what they'll remember most about coaching Lee, and they both start with how much fun it was and how hardworking he was. 'Right from when Ryker stepped onto the ice, we knew his approach every day,' Ward said. 'We do skills every day, and when he gets on the ice and it's his turn, he takes every rep serious. He can also challenge players in one-on-one situations or small-area games, but he makes it fun. He's got a contagious attitude that he brings to the rink, and it's one of work ethic, but also one that he truly enjoys doing what he does.' But they always come back to his hands. For Brandt, it's the way he does it all with his head up. And he said Lee's edges while handling don't get talked about enough, either. 'He can cut on a dime and use his body and torque his body in different ways,' Brandt said. 'He can still skate, he can still make a play, all while having the puck on a string. And as a defender, that's hard because if you make a wrong read, it's a dangerous thing when he's got his head up. And then he also loves to shoot it, so as a goaltender, you're never sure if he's going to pass or shoot it, and his deceptiveness adds to his stick skills.' For Ward, it's the absurdity of the way he always finds his way in and out of the tightest cracks in coverage. Even on a team with guys such as Zellers, the reigning USHL Player of the Year, and Aidan Park, a draft pick of the Oilers known for his hands, it was Lee who was 'The Wizard.' Advertisement 'You could put three of us, four of us, in a phone booth and we'd never touch the puck,' Ward said. 'He's got that ability. And he can wire it, too. Like he can shoot it and he's not afraid to score. He's not one of these guys that is just enamored with stickhandling. He's just as enamored with scoring.' Ask Lee where his hands come from, and he says it's twofold. They were honed with hard work in his basement, but they were also a necessity of his reality as a smaller player. 'I had to learn how to be smarter and put myself in good positions,' Lee said. With his new size, he's learning to use his body more as well. Between development camp with the Preds and the World Junior Summer Showcase, he has also been in East Lansing working out with Michigan State's strength and conditioning coach Will Morlock, who he said was one of the main reasons he and others are now choosing the Spartans. 'I've been working with him ever since I got on campus, and the workouts have been hard, but that's exactly what I need, and he kind of caters everything to what you need specifically,' Lee said. After a strong start at the World Junior Summer Showcase, he's excited to continue to show USA Hockey the progress he has made this fall — and that he's more than just his hands — with his sights set on making the team in December. 'Obviously, I have an offensive game and I can bring offense to this team, but I also want to prove that I can outwork opponents and play in all situations for them,' he said. (Photo of Ryker Lee: Madison Capitols / Rosenau Photography)
