Nashville Predators: 3 Bold Predictions for the 2022 Preseason
By Chad Minton
Lankinen Puts Together a Sharp Preseason Showing
As much as I still don’t understand why the Nashville Predators found it necessary to sign Kevin Lankinen in the first place, I do think he can be a considerable upgrade as the backup to Juuse Saros over what we had in David Rittich.
Lankinen should get at least two starts in the five preseason games. I need to see him get a lot of work to make sure he’s seeing the puck well and ready to shake off an abysmal 2021-22 campaign.
It’s easy to forget that Lankinen’s rookie season was actually fairly decent. If he can return back to those numbers, then the Predators will be pleased with their backup situation. If he can get around 20 starts and be reliable on back-to-back situations, then the Predators will be in good shape at goaltender.
My second preseason prediction is that Lankinen performs well in his preseason action while getting two starts, and maybe even appearing in a third game. This is a great opportunity for him to set himself up for a longer contract with another team next offseason.
The goalie logjam is large, so it will be challenging for coaches to find plenty of game reps for other goaltenders like Connor Ingram, Tomas Vomacka, and Devin Cooley.
Look for Lankinen to be a big storyline in the preseason. Let’s see if he can deliver. If he looks poorly, then the questions will get even louder on why they didn’t just stick with Ingram.