VANCOUVER — The last time Leevi Merilainen had the stage to himself, the goalie stepped through a trap door and fell all the way back to the minors.

With the Vancouver Canucks, the 24-year-old is coping better with the spotlight, as unexpected as that bright beam has been.

Claimed on waivers from the Ottawa Senators just before the season began, Merilainen has so badly outplayed veteran goalie Kevin Lankinen that the prospect has started six of the last eight games, including three straight.

It is Merilainen’s longest run of National Hockey League games since the Senators, desperate for saves after Linus Ullmark’s personal leave of absence last season, forced their rookie to start 11 straight games in December and January. Merilainen admitted things “didn’t go as well as I wanted” and spent the rest of last year back in the American Hockey League after the Senators signed James Reimer mid-season.

As Vancouver starter Thatcher Demko’s rehab from major hip surgery last February drags on, the Canucks are certainly not looking at ways to replace Merilainen. They’ve actually got to be careful not to overplay him.

“It's definitely a part of the conversation,” head coach Manny Malhotra said Friday, after the Canucks practised for Saturday’s home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “At the same time, that's a part of growth — learning to take on more minutes, learning to take on more responsibility. So, as a young goalie, that's the next step in his progression: that when you play well and you get the net, you have to continue to take advantage of those minutes.”

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