The Vancouver Canucks called the NHL to get Kevin Lankinen an assist on a Paul Cotter goal. The league hung up on the idea.
Rick Dhaliwal relayed the story Thursday afternoon via John Shannon, hours before puck drop against the Oilers. The request centered on Cotter's goal in Edmonton during Tuesday's 6-5 overtime win.
The league's answer was blunt. A goalie with no intent to pass doesn't get a helper, and you can't get an assist off a save.
The NHL got this one right. Asking for that point is like a backboard requesting credit on a layup.
Then Thursday night happened. The Canucks dropped a 9-7 decision at home to Edmonton, and the man in the crease had a night to forget.
Lankinen faced 20 shots and gave up eight of them. He didn't make it to the back half of the game.
Leevi Merilainen has one appearance this season and owns a .909 save percentage. Right now, that's the only clean line on Vancouver's goalie sheet.
Canucks goaltending questions land right before a weekend back-to-back
Lankinen's season save percentage sits at .772. Nobody survives a six-game October road trip with that number.
And this is where the phone call ages badly. Lobbying the league for a cosmetic point while your starter's numbers slide is a bad look, plain and simple.
Cotter doesn't need anyone padding his stat line. He has three goals through two games, including a shorthanded goal and a game-winner.
He chipped in a goal and a helper last night. He's still sitting at plus-3 despite the home side surrendering nine.
At a $2,150,000 cap hit, the forward is giving Vancouver bargain production. Lankinen carries $4,500,000, and the gap between those two value lines keeps widening.
Vancouver has scored 13 goals in two games and still sits fifth in the Pacific. Giving up 14 in that span will do that, no matter how loud the offense gets.
Edmonton's crease hasn't been much cleaner. Tristan Jarry is at .739 and Devon Levi at .682, yet Mike Babcock's Oilers leave the two-game set atop the division.
So which Pacific team fixes its goaltending first?
Manny Malhotra gets a quick turnaround to find out. Calgary comes to town Saturday, then Vegas on Sunday, and that back-to-back forces a call on who starts where.
After that, the Canucks pack for a road trip that opens in Carolina on October 8 and runs through New Jersey, both New York clubs, Florida and Tampa Bay.
The league settled the assist question with one phone call. Nobody at the NHL office can answer the one about who gets the net Saturday.
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Should Manny Malhotra go right back to Kevin Lankinen against Calgary on Saturday?
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