Since the calendar flipped to 2026, the Vancouver Canucks are still searching for their first victory of the year. They failed to do so in front of the home fans early in the month against the Seattle Kraken and Boston Bruins, and couldn’t secure even a single point on their six-game Eastern road trip.
That’s not to say the road trip wasn’t entirely encouraging for Canucks fans, however. Vancouver widened their cushion to six points behind the Winnipeg Jets for last place in the NHL, and President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford further clarified that the team is headed toward a rebuild.
In Rutherford’s interview, he mentioned that at the start of their retool/rebuild process, the plan was to not part with any core player. Which got us thinking: at this point, what even is the core of the Vancouver Canucks now?
The core of a sports team is built around the players who best represents the identity of how the team wants to play. And before the Quinn Hughes trade, he was the clear core piece of the team. He was the entire Canucks identity; the team funnelled play through him, and it was evident on a nightly basis that the team was only going as far as he led them.
A handful of players were lumped into that core group with the Captain. But now with him gone, that group is more murky.
On paper, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Jake DeBrusk, Filip Hronek and Thatcher Demko would be the players who stand out as the new core of the team. However, that’s not who the core appears to be internally.
Head Coach Adam Foote was asked whose voice he’s noticed picked up in the room as a leader since the Hughes trade.
“[Filip] Hronek has really stepped it up this year, as far as his leadership. [He’s] matured a lot,” Foote replied. “He’s got good support; [Brock] Boeser’s always there, [Conor] Garland; you’ve got [Tyler] Myers and Marcus Pettersson on defence as well. So they’ve got a good group there.”
The full response can be found at the 2:30 mark below:
"We're generating good offence, we just have to make sure we're helping our goaltenders out."
Head Coach Adam Foote meets with the media ahead of today's game against the Senators.#Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/WeHzHDDlwS
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 13, 2026
With that response from the Coach, the team presumably considers its core group of leaders to be Hronek, Boeser, Garland, M. Pettersson, and Myers. (Notice how a certain player, who’s making the most money on an annual basis on the entire team and consistently wears an ‘A’ nearly every game, was not listed as someone who has not stuck out to the Coach as a leader since the Hughes departure. Interesting.)
If those five players listed are the team’s core, then we’re here to argue that the Canucks really don’t have a core; that most of the Canucks’ next core players are either not on the team, or not even in the organization yet.
The Canucks have a pair of defencemen on the NHL team right now who could be part of the future core: Zeev Buium and Tom Willander. Last year’s first-round pick, Braeden Cootes, could be lumped into that category, but it’s likely their 2026 and 2027 – and maybe 2028 – first-round picks are the ones leading the Canucks’ core of the future.
With that said, if there really isn’t a core on the current Canucks roster, management should have no hesitation in moving any players on the team. In fact, management can view it as trading these “core players” will help the organization net futures that could turn into the next Canucks core.
In PostMedia’s Patrick Johnston’s interview with Rutherford, the Canucks President touched on the importance of keeping veterans, but that doesn’t mean they all have to be these veterans who stay and lead the next best Canucks core.
The core of a sports franchise should be a player that the rest of the team looks up to; a player who will lead by example on and off the ice. It’s encouraging to hear that Filip Hronek has been the player who has stepped up the most for the team in Hughes’ absence. Maybe he’s one of the players who stays through this rebuilding phase to help mend the next best core of the Canucks team.
And at this point, Hronek might be the only player to really consider as a definitive core piece to this Canucks team right now. The team does not have a clear identity that they play to night in and night out, or somebody they lean on to help lead the charge. This management group will need to prioritize building the team the right way, focusing on strong character players, mixed with high-end skilled players that can lead by example and help mould the next best Vancouver Canucks core, because this team lacks a good example of that right now.
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The Vancouver Canucks (16-26-5) open an eight-game homestand when they host the Edmonton Oilers (23-17-8) at Rogers Arena. Tonight’s game is part of Hockey Day in Canada and is set to begin at 7 pm PT.
The Canucks are trying to avoid their first double-digit winless skid in 28 years. The team has dropped six straight in regulation and is 0-7-2 in its last nine outings.
What we saw
After a day off following the team’s six-game road trip, the Canucks conducted a full morning skate at Rogers Arena. That included Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger, who have both shed their non-contact jerseys and are close to returning to game action, although it won’t happen tonight.
With Kevin Lankinen under the weather, Nikita Tolopilio gets the start in goal. He made 35 saves in his last outing, a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens last Monday night. Lankinen will back up tonight, but due to his illness, the Canucks also had a practice goalie on the ice this morning.
Liam Öhgren will start tonight, where he finished Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on a line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Boeser snapped his 21-game goal drought with a second period power play goal against the Blue Jackets. It was his 10th goal of the season. Arshdeep Bains will remain in the lineup while Nils Höglander is a healthy scratch for a second straight contest.
The Canucks will once again roll out their three rookie defencemen with Zeev Buium paired with Tyler Myers, while Tom Willander and Victor Mancini will play together. Called up from Abbotsford a week ago, Mancini will play his first home game since October 26th – also against Edmonton.
Canucks penalty killing has become an issue again as the team has managed to successfully kill just nine of 18 shorthanded situations in January. The Canucks have surrendered the most PPG in the league and are 31st on the PK at 72.1%.
The Canucks have dropped six straight games on home ice (0-4-2) and are 1-8-3 in their last 12 at Rogers Arena. On the season, the team is 4-12-3 at home and has played the fewest games in the league on home ice. The Canucks will play 19 of their next 24 and 22 of their final 35 games in Vancouver.
The Opponent
The Oilers are here after a 1-0 shutout loss at home to the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Edmonton peppered Ilya Sorokin with 35 shots, but could not solve him. The loss snapped Connor McDavid’s 20-game point streak, during which he had 19 goals and 27 assists. It was the first time since December 2nd that McDavid did not collect a point. Like the Islanders game, that was also a 1-0 Oilers home loss to Minnesota.
McDavid, who turned 29 last Tuesday, leads the NHL with 82 points. Leon Draisaitl is tied for fourth in league scoring with 67 points; however, he has taken a leave of absence from the team to tend to a family illness in Germany and will not play tonight.
Edmonton has one win in its last four games, but has collected points in three of those contests (1-1-2). Surprisingly, the Oilers have not won more than two consecutive games at any point this season.
The Oilers are third in overall offence and have the league’s best power play, clicking at 33.3%. It’s actually better on the road at 34.4%. Edmonton has scored a league-high 44 goals with the man advantage this season. Draisaitl leads the team with 11 power play goals while McDavid has nine.
This will be the first meeting between these teams since the Oilers acquired Tristan Jarry prior to Christmas. The Delta native is 3-0-1 in his four starts in Edmonton, posting a 3.28 GAA and an .878 save percentage. He missed four weeks with a lower-body injury before returning last week in a 4-3 OT loss to the Nashville Predators.
Burnaby native Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is set to appear in his 999th career NHL game tonight, with Game 1,000 set for tomorrow at home against the St. Louis Blues.
EDM lines & pairings — Saturday’s Morning Skate:
• Draisaitl is taking a leave of absence for family matter
Podkolzin – McDavid – Hyman
Frederic – RNH – Kapanen
Howard – Roslovic – Savoie
Mangiapane – Lazar – Janmark
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Emberson
Walman – Stastney
Regula…
— Tony Brar(@TonyBrarOTV) January 17, 2026
News and notes
The Canucks and Oilers have split their first two meetings of the season, with each team winning on home ice. Edmonton posted a 3-1 victory on October 11th, while the Canucks were 4-3 winners in overtime on October 26th. The teams will conclude their regular seasons with a final meeting in Game 82 for both teams in the Alberta capital on April 16th.
The referees for tonight’s game are Graham Skilliter and Tom Chmielewski.
What we heard
Adam Foote on injury updates on Kiefer Sherwood and Thatcher Demko: “It’s a big day for a couple of them seeing what is going to happen next.”
Adam Foote on his thoughts behind playing right-handed Tom Willander on the left side: “It’s a great question. We asked ourselves that this morning and before we did it. If we’re doing it, it shows how we value him and what his potential is. It’s always great to learn that. If you’re a defenceman and imagine one day playing for his country, if he can’t play his left side, there are other ways to look at it. If you’re a great defenceman in this league, like Fil (Hronek) can play his wrong side. You can flip. I played lacrosse and I liked playing on my wrong side when I played. There are little adjustments in the neutral zone. He’s got good enough hands on the blueline if the puck comes up. We’re going to watch it. Do we love it right now? No. Is it great for a player that someone values that in you. It’s a good thing.”
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The Vancouver Canucks find themselves mired in a bit of a tough situation at the moment. In a season that has gone off the rails, one in which the management has seemingly finally embraced the idea of a rebuild, losing is a prime component of their future plans. And when your Stanley Cup plans now resemble the village of Naukan, there is an acceptance to the entire situation you can try and embrace. It’s not fun, but you can at least accept what your life has become.
So realistically, a 6-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, marking their tenth loss in a row? That’s a good situation for a team looking to land a high draft pick.
But life is rarely that simple, as the intangibles and unknowns of the situation sort of lurk around the corner while this all plays out. You find yourself asking questions about the process unfolding before you.
Is the losing going to hurt the development of the younger players this season?
If so, do you bring in a new coach now to try and set up an actual system that doesn’t resemble drunkenly walking into a bar and pointing at the nearest guy, yelling “YOU!” before you and your buddies rush at them with chairs in your hands raised high above your head?
Or do you simply ride out the rest of the season chasing down as high a pick as possible before making coaching changes in the offseason?
And I realize there is a certain morbidity when openly discussing a rookie head coaches NHL career a mere half season into it, but I do think it’s fair to say that this looks to be one of the most poorly Canucks teams we have seen in quite a while in this city. The team’s record is one thing, but when you watch this team play, it’s truly confounding as to what, if any, system they are trying to deploy.
Which brings us back to the idea of what does the fanbase want right now? And while the simple answer is “losing for draft position” I do think you do need to sell the fans on a glimmer of hope in the near future. Whether that’s in the form of a coaching change or deep roster changes as it relates to the veterans on the team, you eventually want to reach a point where you at least see some fight from this roster. Where you see a team that doesn’t seem resigned to losing night in and night out, one that doesn’t seem either perfectly ok with it, or seemingly has no answer as to how to change it.
I am a big believer in having a winning culture, and I do think this team can improve on that front during the rebuild. In fact, they have to. I just don’t think the current group will ever be the ones to do it. For all the talk Jim Rutherford gave of keeping veterans around so you don’t throw the kids to the wolves, it’s hard to watch the Oilers stomp the Canucks without breaking a sweat and worry about it getting any worse that it is now. The truth of the matter is the veterans are struggling just as much as the rookies on this team, so it’s kind of hard to point to them being the guardians Rutherford has painted them as.
And to be fair to them, many of them signed on for a Quinn Hughes window that has shut forever. And sure, it’s a business, trades happen, and players have to play through anything that changes on that front, I get that. But it truly feels like a mountain too high to climb for the highest-paid players on this team to come together and rebuild a room that was shattered forever during the great JT Miller and Elias Pettersson divorce of 2025. This just doesn’t seem like a room that can overcome the mental damage from whatever fallout the collapse left them with.
So until then, we wait. We wait to see what trades the Canucks make. We wait to see which players rise to the occasion. We wait to see just how committed this ownership is to long-term planning. It means a lot of losing is ahead of us. But it has to be done in a way that builds actual hope. Give the fans something to believe in next season, even if all that is is a plucky roster of newcomers who aren’t bringing any mental baggage from the last core with them, as the team tries to build up a new future.
Otherwise, it’s hard to picture a future other than the one we saw Saturday night.
Nikita Tolopilo got the start for Vancouver, and while he got lit up for six goals, at least he looked cool doing it.
It also marks the first collaboration between Darth Vader and the Lion’s Gate Bridge?
Woke up today knowing i’ll be going to a Canucks game for the first time ever, sure we’ve been pretty shit and on a 9 game loosing streak but i’m honestly just happy to be there tonight. Hopefully we can at least win one of the 4 games that i’ll be attendingGo Canucks go!
— Ellis(@EllisHockey2003) January 17, 2026
Despite the 6-0 loss, the Canucks and Oilers were dead even at even strength high danger chances with 16 a piece. The Oilers also outshot the Canucks 35-31 on the night, but that was also reasonably close.
Which is where we enter into evidence the “not all things are created equal” clause, as the Canucks’ high danger chances didn’t seem as great a danger as the Oilers’.
Where Vancouver would shoot from the point and slam at the rebounds in the crease to wrack up their high danger chances, the Oilers were setting up tap-ins and odd man rushes with theirs.
It’s basically like when you say you look a bit like a young Brad Pitt on your dating profile, there is some leeway in interpretation of it all that some people might not agree with, despite the fact that you felt you nailed your argument about Febreze being a perfectly suitable option over washing your clothes.
And if there was one period in which you felt like the Canucks might actually be “right there” in the game, it was the opening frame. Due mostly to, well, not being down 6-0.
Still, the Canucks generated their best chances of the night in the first period, and in front of a crowd that had one of the better atmospheres of the season. The invasion of Oilers fans, coupled with whatever bad blood remains from the playoff series a couple of years ago, meant there was a bit of energy in the air on the night.
Vancouver stormed out of the gates, walked cautiously out of the door, and got some momentum based on skating hard and ripping shots. Chaos Giraffe got the party started after a good backcheck from Max Sasson led to a counter attack early in the first:
Marcus Pettersson and Brock Boeser than got a shot each as the “skate really hard and rip shots at those jerks” strategy really began to settle in:
It was a mix of shooting into traffic and hoping for a rebound coupled with shooting at the goalie with no traffic and hoping Tristan Jarry would fall on a banana peel or something and let in a goal. Not the most scintillating hockey you’ll watch, but it’s what’s on the menu for the rest of the season.
Zeev Buium got into the mix next, when he skated into a pass just inside the blue line and unleashed a wrister on net, probably hoping for a tip from Drew O’Connor:
And when pushed back on by the Edmonton Oilers, Vittorio Mancini had a spirited race with Matt Savoie to make sure his earlier pinch at the blueline didn’t lead to a breakaway goal against:
And Fil Hronek, steady, dependable, Fil Hronek aka the Adam Foote Defensive System Whisperer was doing his thing as usual, cutting off pucks around the boards and calmly generating safe zone exits:
It was, by all accounts, a perfectly acceptable period of hockey from the Canucks. They were skating hard, they were generating looks on net, and they hadn’t been blown out yet. You watched the team play and you told yourself “I couldn’t possibly see THIS team lose 6-0 by nights end, certainly not this group of rapscallions.” before nervously eyeing Connor McDavid on the bench.
I think Liam Öhgren stands out on this Canucks team because he has size and uses it well? Like he wins puck battles purely by being a bit of a bully, which this market absolutely loves. And you know how much I enjoy watching Conor Garland play hockey, that guy is a top puck battler in the league in my humble opinion. But there is just something about a hefty dude physically imposing his will that gets you a bit hyped. I think it’s the idea that if you’re ever being robbed in a dark alley, Liam Öhgren might happen to walk by and easily dispatch of said criminals.
Don’t get me wrong, Garland would also dispose of said criminals, but he would take like fifteen minutes of cycling around them to tire them down, and would probably give them a big speech about changing their ways, and it would become a bit of a production. You’d have your stuff back and you’d feel compelled to watch this battle play out because hey, Conor just stepped up to fight on your behalf. But it’s been over ten minutes now and you have to work in the morning, so like, how long are you obligated to stay here, you know?
The bar isn’t too high for highlights around these parts, is what I’m saying, as we’re not exactly watching a young Todd Bertuzzi undress players before scoring TSN turning point goals, but watching Liam Öhgren chase down pucks, generate shots on net, and then continue to chase down pucks defensively? That’s going to sell in this town:
In a season in which a highlight was an elderly fellow actually using the word “rebuild”, sometimes small things like the play of Liam Öhgren can stand out.
Someone on social media called Nikita Tolopilo “Mr. T” and if you know anything about me, you know we are SO running with that.
I’ve said it before, but I enjoy the splash of chaos in Mr. T’s game, as I find modern NHL goaltending can be a bit bland compared to what I grew up on. I’m not saying goaltending used to be better, but I do miss the days when Dom Hasek throwing his stick and jockstrap at the puck was considered a viable strategy for stopping the puck.
And early on, the chaos was working for Tolopilo, as he made a nice stop on Jack Roslovic in the slot in the first period:
Connor McDavid then started warming up, as he began wheeling and dealing as the period was coming to a close, ending in an Evan Bouchard rush to the net that Mr. T just got his gold chains on:
Evan Bouchard would then wheel out of the corner and get another good look on net, only to be denied by the Vancouver netminder:
And to end the period, you had McDavid setting up former Canuck Vasily Podkolzin in the one timer spot normally reserved for Leon Draisaitl, who was not dressed on the night due to being away from the team for a personal leave:
The main takeaway you can glean from these highlights? Edmonton is just a more skilled team. Their shots were all just a little bit closer to the net. The movement with the puck was better and more purposeful. It felt like Edmonton was moving around the ice trying to find elite looks on net, whereas Vancouver truly was set into “thoughts and prayers” shots into traffic.
I don’t know if I pictured the game ending quite like it did after the first period, but you definitely walked away feeling like Edmonton was starting to find their strides and that some goals were about to go down in the second.
Fun fact: Evan Oberg last played professional hockey in 2016, for the Augsburg Panthers of the German hockey league (DEL).
Fun fact 2: Evan Oberg was teammates with former Vancouver Canucks player Mark Mancari on that 2015-16 Panthers team.
Fun fact 3: Mark Mancari would later play on a team with former Canucks player Jozef Balej, thus completing my “Three degrees of Jozef Balej” journey.
Jack Roslovic would open the scoring after doing a little wiggle waggle to open up the legs of both Fil Hronek and Mr. T, a sentence none of us thought would ever be put into existence before tonight:
Part of the chaos of Tolopilo is that yeah, sometimes he gets some Roman Chechmanek movement to his game, and scoring chances open up where you didn’t think there would be. It also doesn’t help that Max Sasson was riding Curtis Lazar hard enough for the former Canuck to accidentally on purpose run into the Canucks goalie.
Adam Foote would challenge for goaltender interference because honestly, why not at this point, but the league sided with Edmonton. 1-0 bad guys plus they got a powerplay out of it for Adam Foote wasting everyone’s time.
And on that powerplay, Evan Bouchard would utilize Vancouver’s strategy of throwing the puck on net and seeing what happens, forcing Nikita to scramble a bit in his crease to keep the puck out:
Jake Walman, who once laughed his way into losing a Stanley Cup last season, also got an absolute ripper off a shot off on Mr. T off of a one T, only to be told he needed to sip tea, and listen about how he was guilty, of not scoring:
After Vancouver took another penalty in the period, Evan Bouchard would lean into a heavy heavy shot on a nice pass from behind the net from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the ensuing powerplay, but Nikita was in position to stop it:
But you can only dance with the devil for so long before they steal your identity and move in with your family, as Zach Hyman would make it 2-0 with the man advantage a moment later:
“Marcus Pettersson didn’t look so hot on that goal” has become a common refrain around these parts, but most of his teammates have fallen under that category under Adam Foote, leaving you once again to wonder just what exactly is the defensive plan here?
Clearly there is some luck at play on this goal, as the puck ultimately goes in off of Fil Hronek, but it’s another play where the Canucks give up position in front of their goalie and leave a guy all alone. Hyman is able to boot that puck in off of Hronek because he has time and space to wave at that puck after Marcus Pettersson jumps up and gets aggressive in the slot.
Whatever momentum Vancouver had in the first ten minutes of the game had vanished by this point, as even our beautiful boy Liam Ohgren was running into turnover issues, losing puck battles and giving up an odd-man rush, forcing Mr. T into making a big save:
Conor Garland was the next player to give up the puck along the board, as this time it led to a Darnell Nurse shot that Zach Hyman and Trent Frederic both took turns just missing on cashing it in for a goal:
There’s just a lot of instability to Vancouver’s game, and you can see other teams just skate with the puck and start cycling, waiting for the Canucks to break down in their own zone and surrender a good scoring chance when they get caught scrambling. It’s like the team has no reset button and when things go off the rails, they don’t know how to get things settled again.
And when you’re a team struggling in your own end, an offensive team like the Oilers makes you pay. Kasperi Kapanen would make it 3-0 halfway through the second period after sneaking in behind Vancouver’s defense for a breakaway goal:
You’ll also notice that Elias Pettersson looked like he had a good chance to get a dangerous shot on net off the Brock Boeser shot to start the clip, but the puck bounced over his stick at the last second. Which yeah, if you want to say the Canucks didn’t get some bounces this night, you’d be correct. But their entire offense currently is based on “sure hope a bounce goes our way tonight!” which doesn’t exactly lead to many offensive outbursts, either.
You’ll also notice it wasn’t exactly a grand plan of offensive creativity to generate this goal, it was literally Kapanen skating hard down the middle of the ice while Tom Willander and a covering Elias Pettersson failed to get back, combined with a pinching Vittorio Mancini not covering Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the breakout.
Which again, this is how goals against the Canucks seem to happen the most. A breakdown in coverage leading to a breakdown in coverage, leading to a high danger chance and/or goal.
The funny thing is the Canucks haven't even committed to the tank yet, this is still them trying their best but just losing 10 games in a row
— -Travis• (@travizz007) January 18, 2026
The Canucks equivalent of JT Miller dragging them back into the fight was a couple of shots on net in the second period in which they had traffic in front of the net:
I do think it’s fair to say that had it been a lucky night for Vancouver, maybe they lose this game 6-2 instead of 6-0? I do think they deserved a goal or two, but alas, the hockey gods are a fickle bunch.
Roslovic would quickly get back on the scoresheet after that, netting his second goal of the game after all three Canucks forwards got caught high in the zone, leaving Buium and Mancini to deal with a four on two situation:
Mancini gets beaten five hole on the pass, which isn’t ideal, but I also feel like Buium is better served trying to take on the immediate threat of Roslovic instead of staying high and blocking a passing lane. I would assume Zeev thought Mancini had the passing lane to the front of the net cut off, so he tried to take out a high slot pass option, but I still feel like you take the guy down low there and hope Evander Kane derails the high slot option.
Either way it’s not a great situation to have two young defenseman in an odd man rush like that, but we can label it a “learning moment” and it makes it feel slightly better.
Perhaps enraged by the fact Roslovic got two goals on the night and was attempting to outshine him, Kapanen would then get HIS second goal of the night before thirty seconds had even passed. Tyler Myers loses a puck battle behind the net and then Buium is slow to react in front of the net, allowing Kapanen to skate by him and tap in a relatively easy goal:
Even with three Canucks skaters standing around in the same general area, the Oilers manage to get a guy open right in front of their goalie, which has been a problem all season long.
To finish the night, who else but a player the Canucks were extremely quick to give up on as former Canucks first rounder Vasili Podkolzin would collect his 11th goal of the season after Connor McDavid scared every single Canucks player on the ice into trying to cover him:
Which on one hand, I don’t blame them? If I saw McDavid skating at me I’d be phoning every friend I had to come join me as we attempted to take on McDavid like a World of Warcraft raid boss.
But while the Canucks were focusing on the Oilers captain, Podkolzin was able to skate onto the loose puck and snipe home the final goal of the game.
The only clip I took of the third period? This lack of pushback after the Oilers, who were already up 6-0 at this point, the game well in hand, took a swipe at the glove of Mr. T:
Do I need Drew O’Connor to drop gloves there? Of course not. But I would like to, at one point in the near future, see a team who is losing 6-0 in a game like this go full Bieksa and headlock anyone to the ice who tries to stunt on the team in a blowout like this. Up 6-0 and you’re poking at a rebound? Get the absolute eff out of here with that garbage.
Look, I know the vibes around this team aren’t good, we all get that. The players saw their best player get traded and they are mired in a losing streak that many in the fan base are supporting, if not vocally, at least mentally. It’s a hard environment to care in, and I understand that. A lot of older players might be eyeing the exit sign and wondering if Jim Rutherford will be sending them a written letter via carrier pigeon informing them they’ve been traded any day now. Which is why it’s so important to make those deals. Finish out the season however you want, but lock in a new direction and culture for next season. Don’t let this losing mentality seep into the floorboards and poison the well.
Tank out the season, but start building the next core up and instill the fight into the team. Not an easy task, mind you, but I do think it’s vital that what we saw against the Oilers on Saturday night, doesn’t happen again next season. Build up your roster, put your pieces in place, and start finding those glimmers of hope where the team starts showing some life again. Commit to the process and give the fanbase a lifeline.
Otherwise all we’re going to be doing is looking for people wearing throwback jerseys instead of caring about what happened on the ice.
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Welcome back to Stars of the Week at CanucksArmy! Every week, we’ll be bringing you our Top Three best and brightest performers on the Vancouver Canucks that week. Disagree with our picks or have your own stars to nominate? Let us know in the comments below!
At this stage in the Canucks rebuild, two vital questions must be answered: why are they still trying to win games when they are inevitably going to come up short regardless, and what exactly is the player deployment strategy here?
The Canucks played four games this week without a single win, topped off with a particularly eye-watering 6-0 shutout at Rogers Arena at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers. A Leon Draisaitl-less Oilers group, at that.
It is one thing to go all-in on young players. It is another thing entirely to ensure those players have a positive learning experience, even through a losing season. First of all, putting rookies in positions that complement their strengths is a must – whatever was going on with Tom Willander and Victor Mancini this week, it was not the case. They cannot learn from their mistakes if they are not playing and making mistakes, but it’s much easier to make stupid mistakes when you’re not even set up for success. After a particularly bad game or two, it makes sense to scratch a young player and force a hard mental reset like you’re restarting an iPhone. Just don’t put a bad taste in their mouths before the team fire sale has even truly begun.
It’s time for head coach Adam Foote to start answering some hard questions, without bringing up any form of tree nut or Russian basement–dwellers.
Rock Bottom Stats Corner
Games played this week: 4
Games won this week: 0
Goals scored this week: 5
Goals against this week: 18
Games since last win: 10
Games won in 2026: 0
Goals scored in 2026: 14
Goals against in 2026: 40
Players traded in 2026: 0…so far.
Linus Karlsson
It is unfortunate when a player has a breakout NHL season while the rest of their team is a proverbial dumpster fire, namely because their efforts are ultimately fruitless and their success is often overlooked. When firefighters show up at a house fire, none of them are commenting on how beautiful the portico is.
Linus Karlsson is that portico. Perhaps unassuming, standing tall in front, and most definitely not the first thing to burn. Okay, maybe we are losing the analogy here.
Karlsson is an ideally balanced player for the phase of life the Canucks are entering. He’s young enough, both in human years and in rostered NHL years, but he brings a finishing touch and more polished decision-making that the Canucks rookies are lacking at this point.
This week, Karlsson set up Elias Pettersson for key goals not once, but twice, in back-to-back games. First, he tipped a Filip Hronek monster-shot to get Pettersson a rebound to open the scoring against the Montreal Canadiens. In their well-fought 2-1 contest against the Ottawa Senators, he found Elias Pettersson in the slot, being the major factor on the goal that brought Elias Pettersson into the top-10 goal scorers in Canucks history. Amongst the sea of losses, it’s the little wins that should still be celebrated.
Canucks goal
Elias Pettersson gets the Canucks on the board and makes it a one-goal game!
Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/legZzy4JWt
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 14, 2026
Drew O’Connor
Given the fact that Filip Chytil has hardly played many games as a Vancouver Canuck due to multiple injuries – a known factor when he was acquired – and that Victor Mancini has spent a significant amount of time in the AHL with Abbotsford, Drew O’Connor has unexpectedly become the most consistent player to come from last year’s series of transactions stemming fom the trade of J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. My apologies to Marcus Pettersson. He knows how he’s been playing.
Despite some rough patches, O’Connor has emerged as a consistent and imposing bottom-six forward, particularly at even-strength deployment. In no uncertain terms, DOC has that DOG in him.
O’Connor was essentially half of the team’s driving force in their 4-1 contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a game that could have been an email – or even a nap. Earlier in the week, against the Canadiens, there was a two-man obstacle course O’Connor beat in order to set up Max Sasson for a goal. This game was a match-up against a far better Montreal team than the Canucks, frankly, had no business staying in as long as they did. Any attempt to put up a fight without actually overtaking the opposing team is exactly what this team should be aiming for at this time.
Drew O’Connor makes a great play to set up Max Sasson, who ties the game at 3-3.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 13, 2026
Kevin Lankinen
While Thatcher Demko is still on injured reserve for the foreseeable future, Kevin Lankinen has once again taken over starting goaltender duties. Lankinen split this week’s games evenly with call-up Nikita Tolopilo – it has been a thankless job for both of them, and I do not envy the position of backing up the Canucks in the present moment.
While it is a difficult endeavour to shower praise on any member of the roster at the moment, it’s common etiquette to never place losses squarely on goaltenders, likely because it is often the truth. Phenomenal goaltending may very well win you games, but poor goaltending will rarely ever singlehandedly lose them.
Lankinen ended the week with an undisclosed illness, taking him out of commission, but he started it off strong. He made a handful of incredible saves on the road against both the Senators and Blue Jackets. This moment significantly raised my own blood pressure; one can only imagine what it did to Lankinen’s.
Kevin Lankinen gets juuuuuuuuuusst enough of the puck to stop it from crossing the line!pic.twitter.com/B8JPy5dRq3
— NHL (@NHL) January 14, 2026
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Rest easy, Lonny Bohonos and Larry Courville, your spot in the Vancouver Canucks losing streak hall of shame has been removed. With the New York Islanders’ 4-3 victory on Monday night, the 2025/26 Canucks now lay claim to the longest losing streak in franchise history at 11 games. There is good news, however: eleven straight losses is something being welcomed with open arms in this city, as the thirst for first continues.
Back in 1997/98, though? That was the start of the Mark Messier years, back when he was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle, which instead ended up being one of the darkest timelines you could have come up with. And although Bryan Allen, selected fourth overall with the draft pick from that horrendous season, went on to have a perfectly respectable NHL career, many in Vancouver are hoping for a bit of a higher bar this time around.
That being said, if you’re going to lose an 11th game in a row, at least the Canucks made it a good one. I won’t insult your intelligence by calling any of these games good, but in terms of effort level and excitement, this was one of the better nights of the season. This is how you want your team to play as it goes through its growing pains, showing some spirit and not just openly accepting the incoming loss with barely a flinch.
Fil Hronek in particular stood out to me, especially during a third period five-on-three penalty kill situation. With nothing to play for except pride, it was Fil Hronek battling like it was a playoff game, playing hard on the body, harassing the puck carriers, and at one point flinging himself through the air to make sure he cleared the puck out of the zone. In a season in which the “oh wow” moments have been few and far between, chalk that one up as one of the highlights of the season for me. Call me old-fashioned, but I still get hyped when I see a guy battling it out like his life depends upon it, even amidst a losing streak in a rebuilding season. If you want to keep veterans around as a good example for the kids, put Hronek at the very top of that list.
Overall, it was a decent game from Vancouver. They carried the play for long stretches of the game, utilizing an offensive cohesion we haven’t seen much of this year. Not every scoring chance was banging away at a rebound from a point shot; there were actual moments when they were slinging the puck around and looking for shots with bad intentions, a nice change of pace if we’re being honest.
Ultimately, the Canucks defensive coverage rose up to be the tank hero it needed to be, as the Islanders secured the win on less than ideal decisions from Vancouver in their own zone.
In the end, the Canucks got the result they needed with an effort that was appreciated, and that’s about as good as it gets in a season like this.
Let’s dive into this one.
We have hit the “looking for answers all across the globe” part of the Demko timeline, which feels ominous?
The off-ice news of the day was, of course, the trade of Kiefer Sherwood, who was dealt for two second-rounders and some guy named Cole Clayton. There were always rumours of the Canucks wanting a first-rounder for Kiefer. However, a return of two second-rounders is still a pretty big win for Vancouver, who finally, finally, traded away a free agent signing at a much higher value than when they first got him.
In terms of the human side of things, it’s sad to see Kiefer Sherwood go. He seemed to truly love the city of Vancouver and appreciated the fan base, something that doesn’t happen all the time around these parts. His play on the ice was also a highlight on many nights, as his appetite for landing hits and his skilled hands made him an engaging presence in the middle of the roster. He’s one of those guys you want to see in the playoffs because you know he’s going to bring it every single night and won’t back down from a single battle. The Sharks are a fun, exciting hockey club, and I imagine many a Canucks fan will enjoy seeing him work towards a post-season berth this season.
From a business side of things, it was very much the right deal, however. As tantalizing as his combination of grit and skill is, he is turning 31 in March and looking to cash in on a big contract, which doesn’t align with the Canucks’ rebuild timeline.
And as they say, when one person leaves, another person has to step up, which is where we found ourselves when Max Sasson opened the scoring on the night, sniping home a pass from Linus Karlsson in the slot:
Tony DeAngelo attempts to make what I will charitably call a dogsh!t pass to Scott Mayfield in front of his net, only for Max Sasson to blow his spot by jumping up and hitting the puck away. David Kämpf makes a kind of incredible cross-ice pass over to Linus Karlsson (incredible in that I didn’t think he had that in him). Then Karlsson goes full Hank Sedin by choosing to not shoot in a spot where your soul was screaming for said shot, only to find a guy even more open than him in Max Sasson. It’s the kind of play Elias Pettersson is trying to make every time he passes out of a shot, except Linus made it work here.
Perhaps fueled by the best pass of his season, David Kämpf then almost scored off of a Drew O’Connor setup from behind the net, only to be denied by Ilya Sorokin:
It was a fun opening period, I won’t lie. The Islanders didn’t strike me as a super competent team on the night, as their defensive zone coverage often felt like a zone system where everyone just sort of followed the direction of the puck and hoped for the best, which led to more offensive chances than we’ve seen recently from Vancouver. At times, it felt like the Islanders were deploying the Canucks Quinn Hughes strategy of sitting back and biding their time until their young phenom defenceman, Matthew Schaefer, could generate some offence.
The Islanders did get a good look on net on the counterattack, however, when Jonathan Drouin almost tipped home a pass into the crease from Tony DeAngelo after sneaking in behind the Canucks coverage:
You’ll notice David Kämpf just sort of spinning in place at one point, releasing Drouin for reasons (bees?), which was just a nice, gentle reminder that breakdowns in coverage were surely coming.
One such breakdown should have made it a tie game, but Maxim Tsyplakov misfired on what looked to be a sure goal by the side of the net:
This is one of the more egregious defensive coverage mistakes on the night in my mind, because I truly don’t know how Aatu Räty can go from battling Tsplakov in the crease, to releasing him and skating wildly to the corner to try and harass the puck carrier. I have watched this video countless times, and I still don’t know when Aatu decides that “yes, now is the time to leave this guy alone in front of the goalie whilst I go chase Adam Boqvist in the corner.” At best, I think he thinks Hronek got beat on the drive behind the net, but even then, you cannot release a check in front of your net like that. If you do that in beer league, your goalie will pretend not to hear you when you ask him to toss you a beer at the end of the night, and/or possibly get a passive-aggressive comment about you later in the group chat.
Despite the defensive issues, at least Vancouver was causing another team to have issues of their own, as Conor Garland almost tipped him a shot in his office at the side of the net, just pushing it wide:
Even in that clip, you can see that Vancouver was playing better than in any of the recent games. Good pressure on the forecheck, winning puck battles, and when they got the puck to the point with time and space, they looked for a high-end finish with the tap-in, instead of just flinging the puck on net.
Looked like Lankinen was sliding on concrete. Should’ve got the body on that one. Tie game. #canucks
— just a guy.(@jaycee24_) January 20, 2026
The Islanders would eventually make the Canucks pay for their defensive coverage when Defensive Minded Elias Pettersson played things a bit loose, backing off of Anthony Duclair to double up Hronek’s man in Anders Lee, and cannot get back in time to block the shooting lane:
It’s not the worst error you’ll see, but it just sort of speaks to the whole Canucks experience this season. Instances where a player just sort of wanders into the sewer looking for their paper boat, leaving a guy open for a goal.
That being said, Kevin Lankinen will absolutely want that goal back. He gets into position but then gets beat short side, which isn’t ideal.
Fil Hronek and Evander Kane would pull off a faceoff strat that has a time-honoured tradition in beer league, the one in which you win the draw while a dude busts his ass down the rink and looks for the Hail Mary pass:
A bit of luck, a bit of skill, that’s how Hronek makes that pass, and it works. If you ever want to see passion and energy and hustle in a player, let Evander Kane think he has a shot at a breakaway. Nobody faster in the world. He tries a good move but gets stopped, but he wouldn’t be denied long, as on the same shift, Kane would eventually tip from a Defensive Elias Pettersson shot from the point:
Honestly, Evander Kane had a really good offensive night. Defensively, he will forever and always be Planet Ice, but offensively? It might have been the best he’s looked all season. The jokes about upping his trade value write themselves, but laughs aside, this is the kind of tape you can sell other teams on should you want to move him.
The second they ask to see his underlying defensive stats, you slap them in the face and throw water at them, of course. But putting that aside, good game.
Remember, they can fix him. That’s how you sell any player.
They.
Can.
Fix.
Him.
The Canucks continued to rush the puck with purpose, as Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson both took turns running the puck to the net. Both men used different strategies as Jake chose the Mason Raymond method of shooting high and wide, whereas Elias actually did a pretty dope fake out where he threw a puck on net instead of the pass Sorokin was looking for:
On that same shift, with momentum on their side, Brock Boeser tried to force a pass to thoughts and prayers, which the Islanders turned into what looked like the tying goal:
When you pass it in the middle
And you never hear a whistle
And you don’t think you can skate back in time
By the time you grab your stick
And you start feeling sick
You’re at the blueline watching Schaefer skate by
It’s alright ’cause you’re saved by the bell.
If Zeev Buium has a test
And he falls down in a mess
And he ends up scoring on Lankinen in tight
Riding low on the bench
Giving his teeth a mighty clench
He sighs knowing an offside will make it alright
It’s alright ’cause you’re saved by the bell.
I will say that I almost wanted that goal to count because it was such a ridiculous move from Schaefer. He truly has that Quinn Hughes aura where you’re like, “There is no way this young kid can be this good, right?” even though you know he is. He is absolutely worth the price of admission.
As I said, though, it was hard to find much to complain about on this night, defensive issues aside. It was nice seeing Brock Boeser take the puck hard to the net while DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson attacked at the rebound like the vultures they are:
And in case you forgot, here is Schaefer once again walking around people at will, almost creating goals out of nothing:
Fun opening period all around, I wouldn’t be against letting the Islanders come back to Vancouver at a future date.
The Islanders chased the puck a lot in this game and felt very reactive at times and not very proactive. It would lead to extended shifts where they would be stuck on the ice, and Vancouver would do their best to take advantage of it:
You can see a bit of the passivity from the Islanders in that clip, where they lose a puck battle and then spend the rest of the time sort of following the puck around the ice, not really challenging for it, and not cutting it off at any point. DeBrusk ends the play by making a strong move to the middle and getting a good shot off.
Aatu Räty would then charge in hard on the forecheck, throwing a big hit, resulting in Liam Öhgren setting up Linus Karlsson for a high danger shot on net:
Even Liam Öhgren passing that puck there, that’s fun to see. It’s a higher-skilled play, and at this point, I’ll take the team trying to get creative now and then over the standard “put puck on net, look for rebound” mode they usually find themselves in.
And Räty would generate a scoring chance once again off of his strong forecheck, as this time Evander Kane would collect the puck and then try to ram the puck directly into the net of the Islanders:
It just felt nice to see the team trying, you know? They gave a glimpse of that world in which the team is young, and rebuilding, and not everyone hates their lives, and they actually still have a dream of winning in Vancouver instead of forcing a trade to Minnesota.
It’s the little things, you know?
Matthew Barzal got embarrassed on live television in the second period, as Elias Pettersson not only drove right around him to get a wraparound shot on net, but he would then later break the ankles of the Coquitlam native with a little NBA Jam razzle dazzle in the corner:
I pumped the tires of Hronek in the opening, but let me also pump the tires of Elias Pettersson, as he was also noticeably one of the better players on the night. These are the games where you can see other teams really leaning into the “we can fix him” mantra that fuels half the trades in the NHL.
Up by a goal and with a power play in hand, Vancouver had the chance to make it a two-goal lead on this chance from Öhgren, set up by who else, Fil Hronek:
Ilya Sorokin makes a really weird save animation on the pass from Hronek, but recovers in time to make what I would call a game-changing save on Liam in the crease, just getting a pad on the puck at the last second.
It just felt like Hronek wanted no part of setting a losing streak record, which is something I can respect. Dude was busting his ass all over the ice.
Why the hell is Jake DeBrusk on the PK….WTF #Canucks
— Ocean Park Nancy(@Nancy_Simonetta) January 20, 2026
Jake is on the penalty kill because Teddy Blueger is in witness protection, and because he gets delightful breakaway rushes now and then.
That being said, David Kämpf and Jake DeBrusk team up to somehow both not cover Duclair on the power play, who beats them by…standing still:
He literally just glides into position, and then every Canuck on the ice just sort of forgets he exists. Kämpf decides the cross-crease pass is the ultimate danger, so he dives to the ice to block a hypothetical pass, and Jake is slow to get back, so nobody ends up taking the stick of Duclair.
I actually kind of enjoy the fact that Kämpf thinks a pass is the biggest threat there, to the point he dives to the ground, taking himself out of any future plays in the next couple of seconds. It’s a bold play, I’ll give him that. He did it with conviction.
The Islanders would then take the lead for good after the Canucks coverage once again broke down, as this time they did the unthinkable; they forgot about Ryan Pulock:
Never forget about Ryan Pulock.
For reasons (bees) I cannot quite understand, Nils Höglander and Linus Karlsson get into a heated rivalry as they both decide that they should be the one to get back into their zone quickest. They end up hustling down low and along the boards, while David Kämpf watches with what I can only hope is a sense of wry amusement. Kämpf then continues to watch his friends race around the ice, and continues his own journey into the corner, thus giving us the Ryan Pulock moment none of us saw coming.
It’s just a bad play overall where the Canucks once again overstuff one side of the ice, and nobody seems to recognize that they are, in fact, in danger.
And of course, who else by Matthew Schaefer is the one who finds Pulock open with time and space to unleash what I’m told was a pretty fast wrist shot.
Evander Kane randomly decided to murder Adam Pelech at one point, so there’s that:
There’s a freeze frame in which Pelech’s mouth is open in a mixture of shock and pain, where you can tell he’s going to be feeling that hit tomorrow.
I truly think Evander Kane will round into better form as the major surgery he had gets further and further into the rearview mirror.
I just think all the gains will be made on one side of the ice only.
Still seems worth three first-rounders, minimum.
With his team down a man already, Tyler Myers knew a cross-check could seal the deal for Team Tank on this night. And the Chaos Giraffe? He don’t miss:
And with the Canucks looking like their night was done, down a goal in the third and facing an extended five-on-three situation, what happened next surprised me.
The Canucks didn’t just hold things down. They shut things down.
The best chance the Islanders got? A shot on net where they prayed they’d get the rebound:
That was the extent of it. Marcus Pettersson, Elias Pettersson, and Fil Hronek put on a master class of defending, and this was a situation in which MP3 didn’t have his stick for most of it. The final part of that clip, Hronek slaps the puck while falling down, adding the proper amount of drama and respect to the moment.
If you talk about moments where you can earn yourself an emotional clap from Charles S. Dutton, this would be one of them. Just one of those bad ass moments where you find yourself nodding your head, going “**** yeah, well done boys” and there isn’t a single thought of Team Tank in your mind. It was just nice to see them lock in and do well at hockey, something that we can sometimes forget to enjoy during bleak seasons such as these.
Evander Kane came about this close to tying the game up on a power play in the third period, if it wasn’t for those damn kids:
Looking like a young Dan Hamhuis, Schaefer shoves the puck back under his goaltender, and danger was averted.
Alas, New York would get their fourth goal off of an Anders Lee rebound, as Tony DeAngelo would jump on a rebound and put it past a slightly surprised Tyler Myers:
Again, another situation where a player is wide open, and nobody is in the area to do much about it. There is clearly a bit of bad luck at play here in that the rebound bounced out to DeAngelo, but you also have all five Canuck skaters staring at Anders Lee, which makes it easier for bad luck to befall you.
Jack Rathbone would have been impressed with the gumption shown by Fil Hronek, as he did everything in his power to get the puck on net, where he knows their best offensive threat, Drew O’Connor, will take care of the rest:
That fake slapshot to freeze the defender so Hronek could get the wrist shot through? Oh, you better believe that’s the good stuff.
Drew would tip home his 11th goal of the season, and with over half the season completed, I worry he won’t hit 20 goals.
But doubting Drew is what fuels him. I look forward to goal number 20 by the end of the season, good sir.
Evander Kane ended the night with four hits (two on Schaefer alone), five shots, one goal, and several “that could have been a goal” moments:
Worth at least five rounders is what I’m thinking.
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The Abbotsford Canucks returned from their three-game California road trip with tans, a bit of leftover American currency, and a two-game losing skid. It was an unfortunate turn for a team that had finally begun to find its footing after putting together its first three-game winning streak of the season.
That momentum didn’t get any help on Tuesday night, as Abbotsford welcomed the Eastern Conference–leading Laval Rocket to town. On paper, it was a tough assignment. On the ice, however, it played out much closer than expected. The Canucks never held a lead, but they refused to go away, clawing back time and again behind a productive power play and a group that stayed competitive throughout.
It ultimately came down to a costly mistake with just 13 seconds remaining. Until then, Abbotsford had gone toe-to-toe with the league’s best, turning what could have been a routine result into a frustrating, hard-fought 4–3 loss.
Starting lineup
This game kicked off with an immediate penalty, as Canucks’ Dino Kambeitz was called for an early tripping call.
Yet, it was the home team who saw the sequence’s best chance. Thanks to some quick pressure at their own blueline, captain Chase Wouters was sent on a clear-cut breakaway. Fresh off a Montreal Canadiens reassignment, Jacob Fowler was up to the test for his first stop of the evening.
And just as the initial penalty expired, it was the Canucks’ turn to go to the man-advantage. Neither side was successful in their push.
Although no goals were scored, the line of Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Ty Mueller and Ben Berard was firing on all cylinders. Midway through the period, they nearly opened the scoring. First, it was Nikolai Knyzhov who rang a floating shot off the post. Off that rebound, Lekkerimäki was left all on his own in the slot before getting the puck high over the net.
It was just before the five-minute mark when the visiting Rocket got one, courtesy of the American League’s second-best scorer.
Laval goal — 1-0 — Lauren Dauphin from Sean Farrell and Nate Clurman
After a fueled clearing attempt, Sean Farrell sent a slick saucer pass over to Lauren Dauphin, who showed incredible patience to outwait Nikita Tolopilo.
It was a period where Abbotsford was unfortunate to come out of it down by a goal. The line of Lekkerimäki, Mueller, and Berard carried the momentum, nearly cashing in on many of their attempts.
Shots: ABB 9, LAV 8
Score: ABB 0, LAV 1
The middle frame began with another early power play, with the Canucks enjoying the early chance. They didn’t capitalize on the initial chance, but were given a second chance shortly after. There, the captain went to work.
Abbotsford goal — 1-1 – Chase Wouters from Ben Berard and Danila Klimovich
Klimovich showed some nice patience, wrapping around the net to find Berard, who made a nice move to get the puck to the net. Although Fowler got the leg on it, the puck kicked out to Wouters, who pounced on the rebound to get his team on the board.
Midway through the period, Laval got the perfect chance to break the 1-1 stalemate. Breaking out all on, a late Victor Mancini got his hands on Lauren Dauphin. As you probably guessed from the play, the referee pointed to the centre circle for the penalty shot.
But Tolopilo stuck with the league’s second-best scorer, throwing out the paddle to put an end to the chance.
But it wouldn’t take long for him to seek revenge.
Laval goal — 2-1 — Sean Farrell from Lauren Dauphin
While hemmed into his own zone, Captain Chase Wouters committed one hockey ultimate sin: a pizza in his own zone.
Rather than go hard up the glass, Wouters turned and provided Dauphin with a gift before he sent the finishing touches over to Sean Farrell.
But a second Laval penalty further troubled the Canucks, allowing them to crawl back into the game. While on their third man advantage, Danila Klimovich showed off his trigger hand.
Abbotsford goal — 2-2 — Danila Klimovich from Jimmy Shchuldt and Chase Wouters
Thanks to some fine work down low, Wouters found Jimmy Schuldt alone at the point. He put the puck on a tee for the sharpshooter, who blasted his fifth of the season through Jacob Fowler.
Shots: ABB 17, LAV 19
Score: ABB 2, LAV 2
The third period was all Laval out of the gate, and it was the visiting team who broke the seal.
Laval goal – 3-2 – Sean Farrell from Alex Belzille and David Reinbacher
Collecting the puck at the point was Alex Belzille, who fired an innocent shot toward the net. Streaking toward the puck from the middle was Sean Farell, who got a stick on it to change its course ever so slightly. With two players barreling into Tolpilo, the puck slowly found its way through the crease. Notably angry with the play, Abbotsford contested the play before it was deemed a good goal.
That goal held until the third, after the Rocket put themselves into more penalty trouble.
Abbotsford goal – 3-3 – Jonathan Lekkerimäki from Lukas Reichel and Ty Mueller
Breaking up the ice, Ty Mueller and Lukas Reichel played give-and-go before a streaking Lekkerimäki finished off the perfect centring pass from Reichel.
Up to this point, all three Abby goals had come from the man advantage.
But it mattered not. The Laval Rocket iced the game with 13 seconds left off a stinky giveaway from Victor Mancini.
Laval goal – 4-3 – Florian Xhekaj
With bodies being pinned behind the net, Mancini collected the puck. Attempting to find Danila Klimovich, he fanned on the pass and had it directly to Florian Xhekaj. Tolopilo did what he could to fend off the open chance, but Xhekaj stuck with the puck, sending the eventual game-winner to the top shelf.
Ouch.
Final shots: ABB 27, LAV 30
Final score: ABB 3, LAV 4
Final thoughts
Although it ended in a 4–3 loss, the Abbotsford Canucks delivered a competitive, hard-fought effort against one of the league’s top teams. They never held a lead, but they refused to let the game slip away, responding each time and ensuring Laval never stretched the margin beyond a single goal. The power play carried them offensively, accounting for all three goals and keeping them within striking distance throughout the night.
Of course, it wasn’t a flawless performance. A handful of defensive miscues proved costly, particularly late, but the forward group largely held up its end of the bargain. Chase Wouters and Danila Klimovich — the game’s second star — were effective in key moments, and Abbotsford’s willingness to push back against an elite opponent was evident.
Still, moral victories only go so far. After riding their first three-game winning streak of the season, the Canucks now find themselves on a three-game slide, searching once again for consistency as the schedule rolls on.
What’s next?
These two will rematch for game two on Wednesday. The puck drops at 7:00 PM PT at Rogers Forum.
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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
Starting Lineup
Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @Capitals
Kane. EP40. DeBrusk.
O’Connor. Kämpf. Boeser.
Öhgren. Blueger. Garland.
Höglander. Sasson. Karlsson.
EP25. Hronek.
Buium. Myers.
MP29. Willander.
7pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/66E1vcVDCk
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) January 22, 2026
Teddy Blueger officially makes his return after missing over three months of action. He takes Aatu Räty’s place, centring Liam Öhgren and Brock Boeser.
First Period
The first seven minutes of this game were a competitive back-and-forth. The Washington Capitals got the first few chances, but back-to-back shifts from the Canucks’ bottom-six registered a few chances of their own.
However, the Canucks found themselves in a bit of penalty trouble when Max Sasson got a two-minute penalty for holding the stick. It was a weird play. So, Sasson and Hendrix Lapierre go for the loose puck. Lapierre beats Sasson to the puck, but gets his stick lifted out of his hands. Lapierre kicks the puck out of danger while protecting the puck with his body away from Sasson. The Canuck forward gets his stick in the area, and Lapierre actually holds onto Sasson’s stick. But Sasson puts his hands in the air, which certainly made it look like he was trying not to look guilty, and the penalty got called on him.
So, to summarize, Sasson got a two-minute penalty for Lapierre stealing his stick. Makes sense.
On that kill, Marcus Pettersson caught a returning Tom Wilson up high with his stick, giving the Capitals a two-man advantage for 69 seconds – and they made the most of it.
The Canucks get caught playing too high in coverage, allowing John Carlson to send a feed to Wilson near the goal line, where it was just him and Dylan Strome to capitalize on a one-touch pass and open the scoring.
The Capitals score on the two-man advantage and get the scoring started early.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
1-0 Capitals.
Still on the power play, Alex Ovechkin attempts to send a cross-ice pass to Strome. The pass gets deflected, but he still manages to corral the puck and send it to the net front. Richmond, BC native Justin Sourdif gets his stick on the rebound off the post to double the Capitals’ lead.
Sourdif sneaks one home, and it's 2-0
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
2-0 Capitals.
Over this losing streak, a two-goal deficit would kill all the confidence in this team, especially this early in a game. However, the Canucks had a spark of offence when an unlikely duo connected.
David Kämpf comes in heavy on the forecheck to pressure Rasmus Sandin. Kämpf picks his pocket, attempts a pass to Boeser in the slot, which Sandin deflects off course. But Boeser is able to quickly adjust to the new angle by dropping a knee and perfectly placing the puck in the top right corner to put the Canucks on the board.
Brock Boeser gets the Canucks on the board and cuts the lead to one!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
It felt like once Boeser broke his 21-game goalless streak, all was good in Canucksland; nobody was on his case anymore for his poor play. But that continued over the next few games, so it was nice to see him back on the scoresheet.
2-1 Canucks.
After the goal, the Öhgren-Blueger-Garland line had some offensive-zone time and threatening scoring opportunities. And while it may not have been their line that connected, it sparked enough juice into this Canucks team to tie this game.
Evander Kane corrals the puck from behind the net, takes it out wide and fires a prayer toward the front of the net. Sometimes, prayers are answered, as the puck deflects off Matt Roy’s skate and behind Logan Thompson.
It's an own goal, and we are tied!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
2-2 tie game.
Takeaways from the first:
– Sure, the two top-six lines scored. But in all honesty, it was the bottom two lines that actually generated more in the offensive zone.
– Zeev Buium is intriguing to watch. He’s so much fun when he has the puck on his stick in the offensive zone; the fluidity and movements he makes are fun to watch. But then he has plays that aren’t so great. Buium attempted a cross-ice stretch pass, which Ryan Leonard picked off in the neutral zone, and the Capitals head back on the offence. The Canucks earn the puck back, and Buium then attempts another stretch pass, which doesn’t connect and goes down for an icing. Not an ideal way to end the period for the young defenceman.
Second Period
After surrendering two on their 5-on-3 in the first period, the Canucks got a two-man advantage of their own to start the middle frame, after John Carlson and Connor McMichael took infractions. The Canucks registered four shots on goal on their power plays, but could not beat Thompson outside of this Elias Pettersson howitzer off the crossbar.
Pettersson rips one off the bar on the Power Play.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
But the team didn’t let themselves get defeated after not capitalizing in the same situation their opponents did twice. A few minutes later, on a similar play to their first goal of the game, the Canucks took their first lead.
Boeser and Kämpf pressure the Capitals on the forecheck, with the latter getting his stick on the puck first. Kämpf blindly sends a backhand pass toward the net as he gets dumped over along the boards. The pass connects perfectly to the tape of Drew O’Connor, who fires a one-touch snapshot far side on Thompson.
Drew O'Connor gives the Canucks the lead in the 2nd!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
3-2 Canucks.
And the Canucks actually managed to build on their lead. Following minor penalties to both Kane and Leonard, the Canucks capitalized on a two-on-one with DeBrusk threading the pass to Filip Hronek at the net front, who elevates the puck through Thompson.
Hronek makes it four unanswered goals!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
4-2 Canucks.
This was their first two-goal lead since December 19.
Who are you and what have you done with the Canucks team that lost 11 straight? Because this team is playing differently tonight.
Takeaways from the game:
– The Washington Capitals had a very active bench all night. After morning skate today, I stayed back to catch up on some work at the rink and watched the Capitals’ pregame skate. They were hootin’ and hollering the entire time they were on the ice. It just showed me that that’s a team. Those guys are having fun and enjoying each other, and they did the same when one of their players blocked a shot throughout the game.
– Sure, he took too many penalties in this period, but Ryan Leonard is the exact type of player you want on your team. He was all over the ice, creating offence, antagonizing the opposition. Canucks have got to find a guy like that through the draft during this rebuild.
Third Period
Drew O’Connor came to play in this final frame. He had three quality scoring chances in the first minute of the game, and then followed that up with another chance on his next shift. He was determined to get his second of the game, but to no avail.
Other than that, most of the period was what you would expect in a two-goal game: the losing team (Capitals) were pushing the pace and trying to claw their way back, while the winning team (Canucks) were parking the bus, playing to protect the lead and secure their first win in what feels like forever.
But they couldn’t make it easy, could they?
The Capitals would be aggressive down two by pulling the goalie. Marcus Pettersson had a shot at the empty net from his own end, which went wide and wound up costly, as Strome tallied his second of the game.
Strome scores his second of the game and cuts the lead to one
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 22, 2026
4-3 Canucks.
And at one point, it felt like the Canucks were going to crumble and let the Capitals come back and tie this game because the Canucks had a few chances to score on the empty net. But they didn’t need the insurance marker.
4-3 Canucks Final.
The Canucks walked away with their first win of 2026 and snapped their 11-game losing streak. But fear not, Team Tankers, they still have a seven-point cushion over the St. Louis Blues.
Takeaways from the game:
– I had a funny feeling about this game. Canucks had already beaten the Capitals this season, giving them confidence they could do it. And they were just publicly called out by their Head Coach. Typically, you see the team really come together and rally around that. As a proud member of Team Tank, I will say that I am happy for the guys in the room that they can go home feeling proud after a win for the first time in nearly a month.
What’s your instant reaction to this game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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After 213 days since your Abbotsford Canucks defeated the Charlotte Checkers in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals, the players and coaching staff finally have their Championship rings.
CanucksArmy’s Jeff Paterson shared earlier this morning that the Canucks were hosting a ring ceremony for the Calder Cup winners at Rogers Arena later in the day.
Abbotsford later shared a social post featuring a video montage of the Championship run and unveiled the design of the rings the players and personnel received.
Here is a screenshot of the ring from the video:
A handful of players who were on the Championship team from last year have made the full-time jump to the NHL: Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, and Aatu Räty.
After leading the entire Calder Cup playoffs in goals (14) and points (26), Karlsson has made an impact with Vancouver this season. He has produced on the fourth line, but also on the top line when given his opportunity with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. Karlsson is tied with Sasson for fifth on the team in goals (10) and is tied with Conor Garland for sixth in points (22).
Sasson and Räty bring something to the Canucks team that sets them apart and makes them valuable pieces of the nightly lineup. Sasson’s speed and scoring touch have earned him a role, sometimes as high as the second line centre. Räty’s reliable faceoff ability has proven to be a stretch, despite not always being in the lineup.
Arshdeep Bains, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Victor Mancini, and Nikita Tolopilo have spent time with the big club this season. Bains is the most experienced of the trio, having played 28 NHL games this season, scoring one goal and five points. Lekkerimäki started the year in the top nine, but his lack of production (one goal and two points in eight games) has him back down developing in Abbotsford. Mancini has appeared in nine games in Vancouver and has a minus-five rating. Tolopilo has impressed at the NHL level, but is currently getting more work in Abbotsford.
Other Abbotsford Canucks Champions have moved on and earned contracts with other teams, with some even earning NHL minutes: Sammy Blais with the Montreal Canadiens, Arturs Silovs with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Phil Di Giuseppe with the Winnipeg Jets, Tristen Nielsen with the Colorado Avalanche and Cole McWard with the New York Islanders.
It was a long way, but Canucks fans can breathe a sigh of relief now, knowing that the players who brought them so much joy during their beloved Calder Cup playoff run now have a piece of Championship memorabilia.
Filip Chytil is set to play for the first time since the hit he took from Tom Wilson in Washington on October 19, 2025. With Blueger returning on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals, and Chytil potentially returning tonight against the New Jersey Devils, the Vancouver Canucks will be adding some much-needed centre depth to their lineup.
However, given the injury concerns, is it as simple as slotting Chytil back into the middle of the ice? What role can we expect him to take on after missing so much time? These are questions that we’ll likely find out after the game on Friday night. But let’s take our best guess at some possible forward line combinations the Canucks could ice once Chytil returns.
Given the aforementioned centre depth issue, particularly the lack of another top-six centreman, the Canucks coaching staff may feel he’s ready for top-six deployment down the middle of the ice right away.
Here’s our first lineup arrangement:
If Chytil is going to play centre, having bigger wingers to insulate him a bit would be a smart option. Not only that, but both Evander Kane and Liam Öhgren have shown some offensive ability recently that would complement Chytil’s playmaking ability.
Kane and Öhgren would be able to handle the majority of the forechecking and play below the circles in the offensive zone, which would give Chytil the chance to play a bit more passively and find the soft spots in the offensive zone. They are also capable puck carriers through the neutral zone, and could take that pressure off Chytil in his return to the lineup.
If they’re going to give him this kind of deployment, it would be crucial that the coaching staff gives him a reliable duo on the wing that can take a lot of pressure off the Czech centreman.
Now let’s try something different and see how Chytil would look on the wing:
This lineup is very similar to what they had against the Capitals on Wednesday; we’re just sliding Öhgren down and taking Höglander out of the lineup, which Adam Foote has not been shy of doing in the past.
The O’Connor, Kämpf, and Boeser line looked good the other night, so they’ve likely earned themselves another look in the coach’s eyes. Giving Chytil two defensively reliable players in Garland and Blueger could benefit him by alleviating the defensive responsibilities he would have as a centre in his return to the lineup.
Garland, being an excellent puck carrier, also takes that pressure off him. This line would allow him to match up against the Devils’ third line, giving him a softer matchup and a lesser role, just allowing him to settle in early on as he tries to find his game once again.
The third option might be the simplest and most conservative, but it does make sense.
Swapping Sasson out for Chytil, giving him around 10 minutes of ice time and a very soft deployment, could be the right thing to do to ease him back into the fast pace of the game.
It’s not easy coming back from a head injury, both physically and mentally. Playing Chytil on the fourth line to start would make sense. Maybe he plays his way up the lineup throughout the game, but at least starting him off there allows him to play a bit more stress-free. Höglander and Karlsson are aggressive on the forecheck, and Höglander has some of that puck-carrying ability to ease that pressure off Chytil as well.
Having Chytil back in the lineup is a huge win for this team. It certainly hasn’t been the season fans hoped for, but getting him back in the lineup is nothing but positive for this group. The biggest thing is, in his return, there shouldn’t be any expectations. Let Chytil take a bit of time to find his game. There’s no rush for him to start putting up points and producing offensively; this team’s not in any kind of playoff hunt.
The most important thing for Chytil, in both the short and long term, is staying healthy and regaining his confidence to be the player Canucks fans know he can be.
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There is always talk about what constitutes a perfect tank game when watching a season like the one the Vancouver Canucks are currently embroiled in. And no matter what ingredients you throw in there, the two you always need are one, a loss, because let’s face it, that’s the star of this dish. And two, you want hope in there as well. Need it, in fact. It’s vital you have hope in there for this recipe to work.
And a loss on its own? That always comes with a bit of hope — the hope of drafting high, the hope of selecting a foundational piece of the future. The entire process of a tank season is predicated on maintaining a good spot in the draft.
But you also want to believe in what you’re watching on the ice in front of you. Because as much pedigree as the Canucks first selection will have in the 2026 draft, you want pieces to build around them. Nobody is coming over that hill to save the day on their own; there is no Gavin the Grey riding on his Basant Motors-supplied horse coming over the viaduct to turn things around next season. We all know this process might take several years before it even hints at a proper turnaround. Which is why you want to believe that something you’re watching now kind of matters.
And for a lot of the veterans, the odds of them being a part of the turnaround are probably pretty slim. Which is why you look to the young players, you try to see which of them might be a part of the solution in Vancouver. It’s why Liam Öhgren has impressed in his time with Vancouver. He’s not piling up the points, but you see him putting in the effort. You see him being an effective big body on the ice, and you can see that being part of the solution.
It’s why when you watch Zeev Buium struggle during the season, enduring a healthy scratch along the way, only to score a highlight reel goal as he did on Friday, you find yourself remembering why he was such a highly touted prospect. Quinn Hughes surely spoiled this city on what a defensive prospect’s timeline should be, and Zeev’s goal tonight was a nice reminder of why he was the central component of the trade that made Vancouver choose to make the deal with Minnesota.
And another small part of the recipe they don’t tell you about is a small one, but a good one. Pride.
Pride from the team playing on the ice in front of you. And pride from the fans wearing the jerseys in the crowd. In a self-deprecating town like Vancouver, it’s easy to lose sight of what it feels like to enjoy things. “Expect the worst, never be disappointed” has been a mental shield in this city for a very long time. It’s the kind of thing you lean into when the team is on a long losing streak, looks dead inside, and has no answers for anything. It’s hard to believe in a team when they openly don’t seem to believe in themselves.
But when you see an effort like the one the Canucks put up in their 5-4 loss to the Devils on Friday night, and not to overblow this game, but it reminded you of what it felt like to enjoy hockey for the sake of hockey again, even if for a brief moment. The empty net sequence at the end of the third period was one of the most entertaining series of events this team has executed in over a year, and it was based purely on a team that simply did not want to lose. You watched the end of this game play out, and it just reminded you of the passion these fans have for the team; it’s not dead, it’s just been buried under poor leadership.
Obviously, bringing Teddy Blueger and Filip Chytil back into the lineup helps. Not only do they up the skill in the lineup, but they bring some of that veteran leadership Adam Foote alluded to about wanting around, so the young players don’t get mired in a depression over the losses and/or banging bench doors too loudly.
One of the main reasons for the turnaround, though? Fil Hronek. I have watched this team look dead inside for well over a year, with all of the off-ice drama following the team around like a black cloud. Some nights it’s been downright unwatchable hockey being put forth by the Canucks, the kind of hockey where if you were caught watching it on your laptop, you’d slam the lid shut and claim you weren’t watching the Canucks, you were watching an adult film. It just felt like the culture of this team had eroded into something they couldn’t come back from until they cut off all of the rot.
But somewhere during this last stretch, Hronek started stepping up. He’s always been the most consistent player for the team this season, but somewhere during the last handful of games, you just saw him battling his ass off on the ice, refusing to give up even during what looked to be an obvious loss. Hell, he even willingly did a media scrum at one point, and if that isn’t a sign that things have changed, I don’t know what is.
And I have to believe that resonates with a lot of the players on this team. We talk about the vacuum that gets created when star players leave, and right now, it feels like Hronek is evolving and stepping up his game across the board.
Now, I don’t know how long it will last. Maybe the team will spiral, and we will see some more low points as we go. But if the team wants to keep fan investment and keep ticket sales going, these are the types of games that do it. Keep building for the future, keep shipping out veterans with the wrong attitudes, and keep building up the culture. Build up a team that hates losing and doesn’t accept it. One that doesn’t derail when things don’t go their way. Continue to build up the talent of the team as you build towards a playoff-contending team in the future.
A lot of out-of-touch media made some snarky remarks a few weeks ago about how the dumb dumb fans in this city wanted a tank but were now bitching about the losses. Those media members were either willfully ignorant or willfully misinformed, but either way, a game like tonight shows you what fans want out of this season.
Fans want to see long-term planning. And fans want to see growth. That’s it.
It’s not a complicated system, but I guess when you half-ass your coverage of this team and its fanbase, you don’t quite understand it all.
The point is, a game like the one on Friday night? That’s all the people want. Give them more of that, and you’ll be surprised how much support this team gets.
Let’s dive into this one.
Lenni Hameenaho hadn’t scored a goal in his NHL career, which is why, of course, he scored his first goal of his career against Vancouver:
The good news is, at least he’s only played three NHL games to date, so it’s not like some guy coming in with 500 games under his belt and scoring against Vancouver. In fact, it was quite gentlemanly of Lenni to get it out of the way quickly.
It’s a bit of a blooper goal with a shot going wide that Tom Willander kind of gets boned on, to be honest. He ties up Lenni’s stick, keeps him outside of the crease, and everything is going well. He’s probably thinking, “hell yeah, I am the king of body position!” or whatever it is young defencemen praise themselves with. Maybe he’s picturing emojis in his head, I don’t know. But the puck bounces back hard off the boards, and now Hameenaho is giggling as he banks the puck in off of Kevin Lankinen.
I also don’t think Kevin Lankinen was ready for the puck to shoot off the end boards like that, so he’s a bit slow to try and recover on the play as well, which lets the puck bank in off of him.
But Lenni scoring was written in the stars, making it hard to blame much of anything on anyone. 500 career goals? Vancouver has you covered. Any Wayne Gretzky record? Vancouver is ready for it. First career goal? Just the price of doing business in Vancouver.
We are firmly in Tua Tagovailoa time with Filip Chytil, where we’re all “please don’t get hurt, please think of your health” and he’s all “I haven’t even been concussed as much as you think, I won’t give you a number, but it’s not that bad, relax” and we’re all “ok, sure, but like, try and be careful?” and he’s all “yeah yeah, I’m fine, geezus” and so we wait and pray everything works out.
And one of the things that Chytil excels at? Zone entries. It’s sort of his deal. The dude can dance and make moves and gain the zone, but that’s also where people like to try and murder you for having the audacity to enter their zone. Scott Stevens would be put in jail if he tried to do some of the things he used to do to prevent zone entries. And while that era is long gone, you still find yourself holding your breath a little bit every time Chytil does a little razzle-dazzle to gain the offensive blue line.
As we are but observers in how this plays out, all you can do is watch and at least enjoy the skill Filip brings to the lineup. Pairing him with your best forward in Drew O’Connor was a smart choice for Vancouver, as they almost tied the game up on a zone entry started from a no-look pass from Chytil to DOC:
Drew O’Connor can sometimes be too fast for his own good, which is sort of the deal with players of his ilk. They can skate like the wind, but when it comes to matching their hands to their feet, that’s when things can fall apart. But I will say that DOC has evolved his game this season and has been the creator of some very slick plays, such as the one above, where he cuts back to give himself a passing lane and feeds Chytil, who fires the puck just high and wide.
Hronek took the ceremonial faceoff, you say? Allan Walsh will be so excited.
I will say, there is something pleasant about a player wanting to stay with the team? Vancouver Canucks fans are hitting some serious abandonment issues the last few seasons, and part of that “pride” we talked about earlier, some of that comes from, well, players actually wanting to gut it out with the team and be part of the solution. And while I think ownership gave some of the former players plenty of reasons to quit, you can’t help but enjoy Hronek kind of going into a Fast and Furious mode with the team and refusing to entertain a trade of any sort. If there IS a turnaround and this team DOES get better, and Hronek is still around and still leading things from the back end? That’s how you end up becoming a legend around these parts.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.
Speaking of veterans, Conor Garland was put on a line with Teddy Blueger and Liam Öhgren, and I feel what they’re putting down. Garland/Blueger/Joshua was an elite third line for Vancouver at one point, so putting big boy Liam with that duo hits a lot of the same notes, which feels like a promising situation for the team.
And while I have no idea if Blueger or Garland will be here in a year, I will enjoy watching them try to recreate the magic of 2023 as they play with the new kid. They didn’t score on the night, but you could see some flashes of chemistry, as their strong work along the boards led to a nice quick pass from Liam to Garland, who then tapped the puck back to Hronek for a wrist shot that almost found the back of the net:
Later in the period, Garland would then almost tip home a Blueger shot, who was set up with a cross ice pass from young master Liam:
We still have a lot of time to go before we can even call this trio a thing yet, but, as I said earlier, I understand the process behind it, and I agree it deserves a look.
We're ten minutes in, and the #Canucks have one shot on net.
— Dragon Was Slayed (@522IntoOvertime) January 24, 2026
The Canucks looked like they might have tied things up when a good forecheck from Drew O’Connor led to Jonas Siegenthaler turning the puck over right in the slot, giving Brock Boeser a glorious, delicious pizza to feast on:
Brock almost had too much time to plan his shot, and even dropped dramatically to one knee to unleash it, but he fired wide of Jacob Markstrom because he thinks you don’t deserve to be happy.
The period ended with a couple of good shots from the much beleaguered Marcus Pettersson, along with Drew O’Connor, aka the star forward of the team, but Markstrom had the answers every time:
I just think it’s wild that Drew O’Connor is in like every highlight package I do now. I literally wrote him off a month into the season, and that bastard has been ramming my words down my throat ever since.
He’s 28 and on a cheap contract, so he’s also very much one of those “will he be around for the good times?” veteran players who have decent trade value, and I will give him a glowing review for being one of the most consistent forwards on this team during the low points of this season. Guy never quits on a shift, and if he sticks around, I think he’s a very good “lead by example” type of player.
With New Jersey on the power play, they would make it 2-0 when Jack Hughes found Nico Hischier in the bumper spot:
The Canucks have run into trouble letting players slide into a soft part of the ice where nobody covers it, which is what happens here when Nico just sort of moonwalks into position for the one-timer. He walks in, flashes a fake ID, and before you know it, it’s 2-0.
I don’t know if Tyler Myers was even aware Nico was on the ice at any point during that shift, as he gets fully entranced by the puck and sort of just follows Jack Hughes, perhaps out of instinct of having followed Hughes for many seasons.
Jim Benning’s revenge game began in earnest when Cody Glass made it 3-0, this time tipping home a puck after everyone once again seemingly completely forgot about a player on the ice:
Now, initially, I saw Chytil leave Arseny Gritsyuk just before the point shot, which led to defensive Elias Pettersson moving over to cover him. Tyler Myers, at this point, is somewhere in Burnaby, possibly at Brentwood Mall, which allows Cody Glass to do some sort of Van Halen homage as he tips the puck by Lankinen.
I wonder to myself, “What is Chaos Giraffe doing??” and Daniel Wagner was like, “Well, hey, that’s technically man-on-man coverage” because I guess with nothing to do in front of the net, Tyler went looking for a man. Heated Rivarly is closer to on ice hockey strategy than you think. Which means Chytil is the main culprit on the goal because he releases his guy, which has the domino effect of taking D Petey away from Cody Glass.
So the question is, is the Adam Foote system bad, or is the team just not doing it very well?
I would argue that man-on-man coverage is a really tough system in today’s NHL because the skill level is so high. If one guy beats you, it feels like the coverage can fall apart in an instance. I also don’t think the Canucks have the speed or hockey IQ needed for such a system, as making on-the-fly adjustments hasn’t worked for this team all year, save for Fil Hronek, who seems to be the only guy who gets it.
I promise Allan Walsh didn’t pay me to praise Hronek this much; I just have really enjoyed his game this season.
I would also question a system that has a tall defenceman in front of his net decide he has to leave to find someone to cover, as Tyler Myers (and Marcus Pettersson for that matter) really do seem better suited at setting up in zones and swinging their large sticks at first-year students in a prestigious magic school.
All of which is to say that I do not enjoy how this team plays defence.
However, with nary a bench door being slammed shut in sight, the Canucks began to bear down for midterms. It started slowly with a Brock Boeser seeing-eye shot that hit the post, reminding us that Jacob Markstrom is mortal and can let in really bad goals at times:
And continued when Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson busted out a two-on-one that at least looked like it attempted a shot on net:
Before Linus Karlsson finally broke the shutout when he slammed home the rebound on a Nils Höglander curl drag shot:
Linus has been quiet as of late, but the guy has a good net-front game, which he displayed proudly on the Canucks’ first goal of the game. It’s also nice to see Nils pick up an assist, as he has gone from “scores on every shot he takes in 2023, and even on some shots he doesn’t take” to “Legally I am not even sure if he’s allowed to score a goal, much less a point” of 2025.
Also, we see you, Johnathan Kovacevic, that was terrible defence on that goal. We see you stop skating. We all see it.
Well that’s a surprise. Blueger gets a shorty! Goes under the arm. 3-2 devils.
— just a guy.
With the Canucks having some momentum, Conor Garland made Hischier bleed his own blood, giving the Devils a four-minute power play.
Now, normally, this would shut the game down for Vancouver. They’d give up a goal. Jake would slam his stick or something, making one of the young kids cry. Adam Foote would glower in his general direction as he tried to remember what it felt like to play with Joe Sakic. And everything would fall apart.
On this night, Vancouver pushed back and pushed back hard right away on the penalty kill. And who else but Drew O’Connor, utilizing his speed to set up an odd man rush that ended with a Blues Clues goal:
Teddy Blueger is a bona fide asset on the penalty kill; we all knew that, but we also knew Drew O’Connor can be lethal on it as well. So it’s kind of like having two of your favourite collaborators come together to drop a hot new track, and it’s everything you had hoped it would be, or at least until one of their political stances led to a dissolution of the band, leaving you pining for the good times.
The point is, Drew O’Connor has a mix tape that, should the Canucks explore a trade, have some decent value.
Also, I really enjoy Tyler Myers just sort of peacing out the second DOC passed it to Teddy Blueger, either because he knew Teddy was going to score, or because he was sad he didn’t get the pass. He almost does the Jake Gyllenhaal walking-into-smoke goodbye.
The Devils would get that goal back, however, when once again they’d utilize the bumper spot, this time finding Connor Brown:
Tyler Myers is straight up out on his feet at this point. Dude goes down to block a shot, and he just never recovers from that point. Eventually, the Devils move the puck around until once again the defensive structure just sort of parts and lets Brown slide into a dangerous spot, as is tradition.
The best play of the night? Well that belonged to Zeev Buium. And while I could describe the goal, I will simply let you watch it instead:
Kid just took the bull by the horns and took off. Drove to the net, did his dekes, followed up on his own rebound, that’s the kind of goal that gives a franchise hope for the progress of your 20-year-old offensive d-man.
Again, Quinn Hughes was unfair. He was too good, too fast. We have to get used to a more normal development path.
And while losing and tanking is for the greater good, there is something to be said about worrying about stunting the development of a young player if he is mired in sad losses. These are the moments you want to see, where you can see their confidence grow as they have big moments. Look at his goal celebration, which has the energy of a young Conor Garland. That’s the kind of goal celebration that belongs in a big game during the playoffs one day, damn it.
Hot off the momentum from the Zeev goal, Evander Kane almost tied it up to end the second period, were it not for those damn kids/posts:
All of which to say, it was entertaining to watch a Canucks team have a bit of swagger in a game. They fought hard to crawl back into the game, and we didn’t have to read about a 4-0 loss; that’s called a win in my books.
Who else but Drew O’Connor to work his ass off and draw a penalty from a guy who has had enough of his fast skating bullshit:
The Canucks didn’t score with the man advantage, but Zeev Buium got his promotion to the top unit, replacing Tom Willander, and got this beauty of a shot on net:
Nice spin pass from EP40 to boot.
Just an all-around good effort, you know?
Devils score against the flow of play. That’s where you need your goalie to make a big save. Fuck sakes. 5-3 them. #canucks
— just a guy.
With the Canucks really pushing the pace in the third period, the Devils made them pay for their aggressive play with a counterattack.
Tyler Myers pinches up and gets his zone entry denied, and then Brock Boeser, who is coming in cold off a line change, is slow to turn and get into position to cover for it.
The end result? Cody Glass wants Jim Benning to be right so bad:
There is obviously an element of luck to this, as New Jersey is just sort of chipping the puck around the ice and hoping it works, but it is aided by a pinch and poor coverage.
Which, to be honest, I’d rather that happen because the team is making a hard push to tie the game up. Go out on your shield and all that.
Unfortunately, that Adam Foote system had another breakdown, as this time Nils Höglander went to cover for a Fil Hronek rush before he realized he’s a forward and all forwards are liars, and they can never be trusted to cover the point:
DPetey also has to be aware that Nils is covering beside him, as I think he needs to be more passive on that, knowing that a dirty lying forward is his defensive partner in that scenario.
But that being said, giving a breakaway up for Kevin Lankinen might be the safest play in the league at this point, so maybe the risk/reward balance is fine.
With the goalie pulled, Vancouver then defended the net like its life depended upon it. Like George RR Martin himself had written out a glorious battle scene that hadn’t been ruined by HBO yet.
With just under three minutes left, Elias Pettersson stared down death and won when he went into a goalie stance to make a save on the empty net:
If that wasn’t good enough, the Devils had another chance to end the game, but were thwarted by Marcus Pettersson and Elias Pettersson teaming up to steal the puck at the blueline:
And just when you thought they couldn’t possibly keep getting away with it, Marcus Pettersson then chopped down a pass on another zone entry, and denied the Devils access to their net:
And if that didn’t get the crowd excited, Brock Boeser made sure to send the crowd into a fever when he scored with just over a minute left:
It’s been a long time since I have seen Vancouver fans just enjoy a moment for the moment. No thinking of the draft, no thinking of the implications, you just saw people get caught up watching a team bust its ass trying to tie the game up. It was about as pure a hockey moment as we have seen this season from Vancouver.
And while ultimately the team losing the game is better for the future, part of you couldn’t help but wish that Drew O’Connor tied the game up on the last shot of the game, just for the theatrics of it all:
You get your best forward in a position to tie the game up? What more can you ask for, really?
It was truly a chaotic end to a game, but an enjoyable one.
Again, if you’re going to lose, that’s the kind of way you want to go out.
Good game from a team that hasn’t given fans many reasons to smile. Enjoy these moments when they come, as the road ahead is still a long one.
See you Sunday.
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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
Starting Lineup
Warmup #Canucks lines vs. @penguins
Kane. EP40. DeBrusk.
O’Connor. Chytil. Boeser.
Öhgren. Blueger. Garland.
Höglander. Sasson. Karlsson.
EP25. Hronek.
Buium. Myers.
MP29. Willander.
3pm on @Sportsnet650 https://t.co/J6DNM1E8Qt pic.twitter.com/9xbSfsKs5C
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) January 25, 2026
First Period
The game got started with a bang as the Penguins applied some early pressure on the Canucks. Kevin Lankinen had to be sharp right away, as Evgeni Malkin found himself on the doorstep with a grade-A scoring chance after a cross-crease pass.
Kevin Lankinen makes a back-door stop on Evgeni Malkin early in the first.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 25, 2026
There was a scary moment later in the first, as Zeev Buium took a shot off the face. He went down to the ice and headed to the Canucks’ locker room shortly after. In all the chaos, it was hard to notice that the puck had trickled over the Canucks’ goal line, though it did. The Canucks challenged that the play was offside, and won that challenge. Still scoreless eight minutes into the game.
Jake DeBrusk had a great chance to score right in front of Stuart Skinner, but the Penguins’ netminder flashed his left pad out to make the save. DeBrusk had another great chance to score after Evander Kane worked to win the puck along the wall, and Elias Pettersson snapped a pass to the front of the net. Unfortunately, Skinner was there to make the save once again.
Conor Garland looked to have open the scoring with 55 seconds left in the first, but it was determined that Teddy Blueger interfered with Stuart Skinner. No goals after 20 minutes of play.
Some takeaways from the first:
-Loud cheer from the Rogers Arena faithful for the “Welcome back Arturs Silovs” message.
-Shoutout Liam Ohgren, who had the puck stolen from him by Sidney Crosby, but immediately stole the puck back from Crosby.
-It’s actually amazing that Sidney Crosby is still doing this at his age.
Second Period
Good to see Zeev Buium back out for the start of the second, sporting a fishbowl visor.
Anthony Mantha was called for elbowing less than two minutes into the second, giving the Canucks the game’s first power play.
While the first unit didn’t do much, the second unit looked very dangerous, and nearly scored after Zeev Buium dished a cross-crease feed to Filip Chytil, whose chance was denied by Skinner. Not a bad power play by any means.
The Penguins opened the scoring moments later after Zeev Buium pinched, which led to an odd-man rush the other way, and Jake DeBrusk couldn’t get back in time to break up the cross-ice feed.
Finally, a goal counts as the Penguins take a 1-0 lead.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 26, 2026
1-0 Penguins.
Ben Kindel managed to accomplish every kid’s dream when he scored a goal in his hometown debut. The Coquitlam-born forward fought with Elias Junior Pettersson for position at the front of the net, and managed to deflect a hard pass from Ryan Shea past Kevin Lankinen to put the Penguins up by two.
Ben Kindel scores in his hometown to put the Penguins up 2-0.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 26, 2026
2-0 Penguins.
It got LOUD in Rogers Arena again, as Ben Kindel blasted home a one-timer off the rush five-hole on Kevin Lankinen to put Pittsburgh up by three.
Ben Kindel gets another, and it’s 3-0 Penguins.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 26, 2026
3-0.
Some takeaways from the second:
-Ben Kindel is a great reminder of why it’s so important for this team to load up on (and use) draft picks.
-I think I like Zeev Buium on PP1 over Tom Willander.
-Teddy Blueger is sure making a lot happen since returning. If I’m an NHL GM, I’m giving up at least a second round pick for Blueger at the deadline, personally.
-Hey, how did the Penguins get Ben Kindel? Oh… oh no.
Third Period
The Canucks got on the board in the third. Elias Junior Pettersson stepped up and made a great play to Elias Pettersson senior, who made an even greater play to Evander Kane, who dropped his shoulder down and went to the net. Jake DeBrusk was ready to strike on the rebound chance, getting the puck past Stuart Skinner for the first time on the night.
Jake DeBrusk gets the Canucks on the board to make it a 3-1 game.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 26, 2026
3-1.
The Canucks made things interesting when Filip Hronek blasted a one-timer that appeared to deflect off of Teddy Blueger and find the back of the net.
The Canucks come within one of the Penguins late in the third period.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 26, 2026
3-2 with six minutes to go.
With just under two minutes left, the Canucks pulled Kevin Lankinen. They did not score.
3-2 final.
I think Bryan Rust might be getting a call from Player Safety for that late hit on Brock Boeser.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser went down after a hit to the head late in the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Canucks trailed the Penguins 3-2 late, and were looking for the equalizing goal when Penguins forward Bryant Rust came flying into the scrum in front of the Penguins’ net in the dying seconds of the third and seemingly got his shoulder up on Boeser, who was helped off the ice by teammates. No penalty was called on the play as time expired.
Bryan Rust get the elbow up on Brock Boeser late in the third.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 26, 2026
Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote was asked about the hit post game and called it a headshot.
“It was a headshot. It was shoulder and his head. I’m sure the league will look at it because it was, even though he may have been desperate to get Boes down because it was a scrum at the net, I still think it was something that you got to be in control of your body. I thought it was a little bit of a vicious, vicious hit to the head.”
Teammate Jake DeBrusk said that he and his teammates didn’t see the hit in the moment, but after getting a look at it post game, said “I think it’s a pretty dirty play to be honest with you.”
The reaction from Canucks fans on social media has had a similar sentiment, with many fans immediately following the play, calling it a dirty play. At this time, Foote said he does not have an update on Boeser’s condition.
Boeser missed time last season after taking a similar hit to the head from Tanner Jeannot against the Los Angeles Kings on November 7, 2024, which led to a three-game suspension for Jeannot.
Boeser would go on to miss seven games following that play last season.
The Canucks, who have been riddled with injuries this season, could be facing yet another big loss to their lineup if Boeser indeed misses time.
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43 (@Huggy_Bear43) 
quick. Trade him!!! 
(@ApparentlyKelly) 