Canucks Recent Goaltending Rotation Has Been Perplexing

As the Vancouver Canucks head towards the end of the 2025-26 season, a confusing trend has emerged. Despite Vancouver being eliminated from playoff contention, the team has elected to start goaltender Kevin Lankinen in six of the past seven games. That number will grow to seven of the last eight on Wednesday as he is the projected starter for the Canucks against the Colorado Avalanche. 

While having a starting goaltender play the majority of games during a stretch is not uncommon, it is perplexing considering where Vancouver sits in the standings. At this stage of the season, the Canucks should be giving young players opportunities, which includes 25-year-old goaltender Nikita Tolopilo. Instead, Tolopilo has played once over the past 16 days and did not even complete that game as he was pulled during the second period. 

Prior to the past two weeks, Vancouver was doing a good job of rotating their goaltenders. From February 2 to March 17, Lankinen received seven starts while Tolopilo was not far behind with five. That rotation plan, however, seems to have gone out the window based on the recent trend. 

The argument of win and you're in can't even be used, as both goaltenders have struggled to pick up victories this season. Since February 1, the Canucks have three wins in 18 games, with neither goaltender posting a save percentage over .866. While the goaltenders have not received much help over the past two months in terms of offensive production, there have also been nights when inconsistent goaltending has cost Vancouver on the scoresheet. 

With nine games remaining, there is still some uncertainty about how Adam Foote and his staff will manage the goaltenders. There are two back-to-backs, which means, in theory, Tolopilo will get at least two more starts. While Lankinen is the starter, now may be the best time to give him some rest so the Canucks can get a larger sample size of Tolopilo's play. 

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