Formidable Finns: Inside Nashville's One-Two Goaltending Punch

Following back-to-back road wins for the Nashville Predators last week, forward Filip Forsberg put it simply:
"We have the two best goaltenders in the League."
It may seem like a bold claim, but the numbers - and the results - speak for themselves.

Dating back to the Pekka Rinne era, the Predators have been a team that often relies on goaltending to win games and help propel them to the playoffs. That's nothing new. What is new, though, is the Preds having a reliable, consistent backup in net behind Juuse Saros. Kevin Lankinen, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Predators as a free agent this offseason, impressed in his first training camp with the club and earned the No. 2 spot behind Saros, creating a formidable one-two punch in the Predators crease.
Both of Nashville's netminders are among the best in the NHL in terms of Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx), an advanced stat that measures expected goals against minus goals against and thereby accounts for the quality of shots a goaltender faces. Per Evolving-Hockey.com, Lankinen is ranked No. 10 in the League with a GSAx of 6.57, while Saros is No. 12 with a GSAx of 6.42. Only one other team - the New York Islanders - has two goalies in the top 15.
As if there was any doubt about the elite caliber of the Preds goaltending duo, fans were treated to stellar side-by-side performances last week when the team played back-to-back games in New Jersey and New York. First, Saros stopped 25 shots in the rollercoaster that was Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Devils. He gave up three goals in a four-and-a-half-minute stretch early in the second period, with two of the tallies coming on the power play. However, Saros stayed cool under pressure and regained his footing, giving the Preds a chance to mount a comeback. Saros is 6-0-1 over his last seven starts, allowing more than three goals only once during that stretch.

While Saros took a well-deserved night off after Thursday's win, Lankinen made the best start of his NHL career Friday against the Islanders. He made a career-high 48 saves, including 21 in the third period alone.
"He's the first star of the game by far," forward Matt Duchene said of Lankinen after the win. "The first two periods were pretty even. They had a few more shots because of power plays. But it was pretty even, there was no room out there. Nobody really had the puck. It was a very mucky game. And then in the third they threw the kitchen sink at us and Lankinen stood tall and we were able to recover on second pucks and rebounds for him. So, he was outstanding and he was our MVP today."

Lankinen's 3-3-0 record in six starts this season may not accurately reflect how solid he has been in the Predators net, but a .935 save percentage in that stretch is indicative of a reliable backup who will prove an important piece of a team looking to make the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season.
"Obviously, we're the same age, so we've been playing together on junior national teams and playing against each other in Finland," Lankinen said of Saros during training camp this summer. "We've always been good buddies and [we're] both hard working guys, trying to be the best we can be."
Lankinen, who made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021, also looks to Saros as a mentor and an example as he looks to become an NHL mainstay himself.
"He works hard and I work hard, and I think we can push each other to be better every day," Lankinen said. "Obviously, I've got a lot of respect for him. I mean, he's one of the top goalies in the league. I feel like I can learn from him as well."
As the Preds prepare to enter the meat of the regular season, inconsistent goaltending performances are looking like a thing of the past. Saros may have a penchant for making "slow starts," but he is starting to look like the Vezina Trophy finalist that he was in 2021-22. That, combined with Lankinen's dependability, could be the ultimate recipe for success in Smashville.