Kevin Lankinen led the meeting between the Finnish guards in Buffalo.
In the ice hockey NHL, the Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche in front of their home crowd. Roope Hintz scored Dallas’ winning goal and Miro Heiskanen collected power points 0+2.
Colorado’s Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen grabbed serve in the opening set Valery Nitshuškin to finish with superiority to a 1–1 draw. Rantanen’s shot first hit the post, after which the Russian forward shoveled the puck into the Dallas net.
At the end of the second period, Dallas already took a 4–1 lead with Hintz’s power play goal.
However, Colorado started Kiri in the final set with the help of its Finnish players, when first Artturi Lehkonen the gallant shot surprised the Dallas coach by Jake Oettinger. After that, one of the best defenders in the Puck World Cale Makar served a spectacular pass to Rantanen, whose shot sank irresistibly into the Dallas net.
Colorado could no longer create the necessary momentum. Dallas eventually corrected the victory with goals 5–3.
Lankinen led the meeting between the Finnish guards
Kevin Lankinen represented by the Vancouver Canucks won Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after extra time represented by the Buffalo Sabres, I scored 4–3.
The Canadian team’s winning goal in overtime was completed by a Yankee striker Conor Garland.
Lankinen blocked 31/34 shots in the match. With the win, Vancouver secured their position in the playoff battle. The team is seventh in the Western Conference.
29-year-old Lankinen moved to Vancouver for this season from Nashville, where he left another Finnish coach Juuse Saros into the shade. The start in the new team has been successful. Lankinen has blocked pucks in Vancouver with 90.9 percent certainty. The average number of goals conceded in 15 matches is 2.56 (goals per match).
Both Lankinen and Luukkonen are strong candidates for Finland’s goal at the Four Nations national team tournament to be played in February.
Philadelphia Flyers – New York Rangers 3–1 (PHI: Rasmus Ristolainen 0+1)
Minnesota Wild – Chicago Blackhawks 3-2
Washington Capitals – New York Islanders 5-4 AND.
Nashville Predators – Tampa Bay Lightning 2-3 AND. (NSH: Juuse Saros 25/28 counter)
Detroit Red Wings – New Jersey Devils 4-5
Columbus Blue Jackets – Calgary Flames 5-2
Carolina Hurricanes – Florida Panthers 3–6 (CAR: Sebastian Aho 0+1, FLA: Anton Lundell 1+1, Eetu Luostarinen 0+2, Alexander Barkov 0+1)
Buffalo Sabers – Vancouver Canucks 3-4 AND. (BUF: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 18/22 counter VAN: Kevin Lankinen 31/34 counter)
San Jose Sharks – Seattle Kraken 8–5 (SJS: Mikael Granlund 1+1, SEA: Eeli Tolvanen 0+1)
Anaheim Ducks – Los Angeles Kings 1-2
Boston Bruins – Pittsburgh Penguins 1-2
Vegas Golden Knights – Winnipeg Jets 4-3
Utah Hockey Club – Edmonton Oilers 3–4 (UHC: Juuso Välimäki 0+1, Olli Määtä 0+1)
Dallas Stars – Colorado Avalanche 5–3 (DAL: Miro Heiskanen 0+2, Roope Hintz 1+0, COL: Mikko Rantanen 1+1, Artturi Lehkonen 1+0)