Chicago Blackhawks: Kevin Lankinen has been fantasticon January 30, 2021 at 3:00 pm

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 29: Kevin Lankinen #32 of the Chicago Blackhawks blocks a shot by Nick Foligno #71 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at the United Center on January 29, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JANUARY 29: Kevin Lankinen #32 of the Chicago Blackhawks blocks a shot by Nick Foligno #71 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at the United Center on January 29, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks went into the 2021 season with a big question mark in goal. It looked like Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia would split the net with a spot start for Kevin Lankinen here and there. However, Delia and Subban were pretty bad to start the season so Lankinen got a chance earlier than we thought and has stolen the show. He is making a case for himself to be the team’s number one goalie for the rest of the season and potentially beyond.

The Chicago Blackhawks had a chance to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets with Kevin Lankinen.

The Chicago Blackhawks ended their five-game point streak with a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was the only game on the NHL slate so all hockey watching eyes were on this game. It was a game that Kevin Lankinen and Joonas Korpisalo dominated as the goaltenders for each team. The Blue Jackets went up 2-0 which made it unreachable for the Blackhawks. It is hard for them to score in bunches and if their top line or power play doesn’t dominate, they don’t win.

The power play did get one in this game to make it 2-1. Dylan Strome scored a goal assisted by Patrick Kane and Dominik Kubalik. Those are three guys who you want to see on the scoresheet as much as possible but it can’t be all of them. The forward depth on this team is probably its biggest weakness at this point. It is good to see this team’s power-play succeeding a little bit because it has been so bad in recent years.

In order to beat a team like Columbus, you need to outwork them. Well, the Hawks worked well against them but they fell one goal short. It was a nice defensive battle but Chicago wasn’t able to get that second goal. They came close a few times at the end of the game but it wouldn’t go.

Kevin Lankinen has been strong enough to keep them in games. He is now 2-1-2 with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. Those are great numbers and the Blackhawks can only hope that he keeps that up. Each of those numbers will probably come down to earth a little bit but he is clearly a guy that you can rely on. Against Columbus, he made 25 saves on 27 shots and one of the goals given up was on the power play.

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The good news for Chicago is the fact that they have another chance at the Blue Jackets on Sunday night. We don’t know for sure yet who will be in the net but they need to be this good. When you are a team that doesn’t score enough you need great goaltending and defense. As this game showed, sometimes that isn’t even good enough. The Blackhawks are going to be pesky this season but it isn’t always going to be enough.

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