Alex Auld understands what Kevin Lankinen is trying to navigate. The 44-year-old Auld was a netminder for 10 seasons in the NHL, including four years with the Vancouver Canucks. He was a starter — he took the Cyclone Taylor Trophy as the Canucks’ most valuable player in 2005-06 — and he was a backup,

On Saturday night in Vancouver, the Canucks were somewhat soundly outplayed in the opening 20 minutes but managed to come out of the first period thanks to some misses at the goal mouth from Tom Wilson, Matt Roy and Lars Eller and thanks to one of the most absurd individual offensive efforts you’ll see all season from a blueliner.

Sometimes, the stars take matters into their own hands. The Vancouver Canucks took home a 2-1 win against the league-leading Washington Capitals. It wasn’t the most convincing thing in the world, but it was a win,