Hawks' Lankinen leads way in back-to-back wins

Almost from the moment that Kevin Lankinen signed a contract with the Blackhawks in 2018, he imagined what it would be like to play in the jam-packed United Center.

He couldn't wait for the earsplitting national anthem. Or the oohs and ahhs after making big saves. Or to see the 20,000-plus leap out of their seats after a Hawks goal.

Of course, that has yet to happen in any of Lankinen's 14 starts at the UC. So all the 25-year-old can do is look forward to the day when fans are allowed back in the building.

This isn't to say Lankinen isn't enjoying his success - especially at home and especially when asked to take a spin on the ice after being named the game's No. 1 star. On those occasions, Lankinen emerges with an ear-to-ear smile and waves to the cameraman in the 200 section.

"That's kind of the European in him when he's going around the ice clapping after the game with no fans," said forward Dylan Strome. "Hopefully he can have some first star performances when the fans are back. I know they'll love that and I'm sure he will too."

"I think about it quite a lot," Lankinen said after making 41 saves in the Hawks' 3-0 victory over visiting Florida on Thursday. "I like to imagine and visualize the whole building being full of those loud Blackhawks fans. Whenever we get the chance to bring them in, it's going to be just another amazing experience for us."

Speaking of amazing, that's exactly what Lankinen has been most of the season. So much so that the Finn quickly established himself as the No. 1 netminder over Malcolm Subban and Colin Delia by going 7-2-2 and posting a .938 save percentage from Jan. 22 to Feb. 17.

"We didn't know what to expect," coach Jeremy Colliton said when asked if Lankinen's play has surprised him. "(Saying) surprise feels like we didn't think he was capable of it. It's not to say that.

"We just didn't know and we wanted to give the three of them the chance to battle it out and see how it shook down. The way it's turned out is Lanks has really grabbed hold of it. And credit to him."

As with many young players, Lankinen endured a rough patch, but refused to dwell on the numbers, focused on the big picture and got to work. A point of emphasis was to improve seeing shots from the point or the slot while being screened by opponents - especially when they're on the power play.

Thursday's 3-0 victory over the Panthers was almost exclusively due to Lankinen. He was on his game from the get-go, making 2 big stops in the first 3:10. Then came 3 saves on a late first-period power play, 4 more in just 19 seconds in the second period and a miraculous pad save on Jonathan Huberdeau on a 3-on-0 rush with 2:55 left in the second.

"Maybe not the way we're supposed to defend, but that happens," said Lankinen, who was also named the No. 1 star in Tuesday's win over the Panthers. "It was one of those moments where the game can turn over, so I felt like we needed a big save there and I was able to make it. That brought us some momentum, and we were able to survive and come into the third period with the lead."

Lankinen turned away 38 shots in the first 50 minutes before the Hawks settled down and allowed just 3 more attempts the rest of the way.

Lankinen (12-7-4, .920, 2.71 GAA) is in the rookie of the year conversation. Some of the stiffest competition might come from fellow goalies in Washington's Vitek Vanecek (14-5-3, .910, 2.67) and Minnesota's Kaapo Kahkonen (12-5-0, .921, 2.29).

While awards are nice, a playoff berth would be nicer for the Hawks. And if they're going to get there, it'll certainly be with Lankinen's help.

So while he was happy with his second career shutout Thursday, Lankinen knows not to dwell on it for too long.

"It's never easy to win in this league, so I'm really grateful for every chance I get to start - even more grateful for every win we're able to get," he said. "Whenever I get all the stuff done at the rink, I'm going home to my fiancee and enjoy the night and enjoy the win, move on and get better."

By the numbers

A breakdown of Kevin Lankinen's rookie season with the Blackhawks:

<b>First 12 games</b>Record Sv% GAA

7-2-3 .931 2.29

<b>Next 9 games</b>Record Sv% GAA

3-5-1 .893 3.64

<b>Last 2 games</b>Record Sv% GAA

2-0-0 .974 1.00

GAA: Goals against average