Just four months after winning the Calder Cup with the Abbotsford Canucks, Arturs Silovs got his revenge against the team that traded him, the Vancouver Canucks.
Talking to reporters Tuesday night after a 5-1 victory for his Pittsburgh Penguins, the reigning Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner as AHL playoff MVP was happy to win their first meeting.
“It’s always [big] the first time facing my former club and it feels great,” Silovs said. “It feels great to face them.”
At one point, it looked like it’d go the other way. After giving up a goal to Conor Garland on the very first shot of the game (proving that the roots of being a Canuck never leave you), Silovs was perfect the rest of the way, turning aside 23 shots from his former team in the 5-1 win.
HUG. YOUR. GOALIE!
After letting in the first shot, Silovs responded by saving the next 23 shots from his former teampic.twitter.com/HXT26sW7gc
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 22, 2025
“It was a good shot, you know. Like a good clapper, have to give credit to the guy.” Silovs said of Garland’s goal. “But after that, I felt pretty solid.”
Silovs credited the turnaround to his team’s play in the second period, when the Penguins dominated the Canucks in shots 14-3 and scored thrice in just over three minutes.
“I think [our] second period was phenomenal. Managing to score so many goals on [the] power play,” Silovs said. “Good blocks in front took some dangerous shots away. I think it [was a] great effort.”
When asked about how the Penguins have strung together so many wins to start the year – five of their first seven, to be exact – Silovs attributed that to the team’s ability to strike at key points.
“I think there’s just the crucial moments in the game, you know?” Silovs said. “You make one save, good block in the second, and we managed to score straight away. And from there we just took the momentum.”
Part of that momentum came off an early save in the first, when Silovs shut down Evander Kane on a breakaway.
The Latvian netminder kept the secret to that success largely to himself: “Just read the player, outwait him, see what he’s going to do.”
The win gives Silovs three victories in his first four starts, which includes pitching a shutout against the New York Rangers in his Penguins debut. As far as the personal success he’s found with the Pens, Silovs pointed to the adjustments he’s made since arriving in Pittsburgh, which have helped him settle into a regular starting role.
“The work I put in during the summer, during the practices and actually executing and feeling confident in my game, I think it’s great to show that it helps me in the game.”
The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Thursday night, which isn’t particularly all that strange. If there are two teams in the league that can grind out a hideously boring, low-scoring affair, the type of game that makes you ponder building a time machine to prevent the creation of hockey, or mankind itself, it would be Minnesota or Nashville.
And mired in a road trip filled with injuries, amidst a tight schedule, the Canucks letting out a slow, gentle fart into the night skies to punctuate the end of their travels isn’t exactly something coming out of left field.
What continues to be a bit of a surprise has been the play of Quinn Hughes. Don’t get me wrong, he is still the Canucks best player on the season, just edging ahead of Max Sasson.
And there is probably something unfair about comparing Quinn Hughes to the incredibly high bar he has set for himself and this city. But I think we can all agree that something seems slightly off about the Canucks captain.
His play on the ice just hasn’t been as clean as we’re used to. His handling of the puck, his cuts on the ice, it just hasn’t felt like that Norris-level Quinn Hughes can play at. Which, I know, that’s a bit like lamenting why Superman didn’t seem to fly quite as fast when he lifted the crumbling building off of the starving orphans.
“He saved the kids, but he didn’t seem too excited about it, you know?” I sent to my group chat in Metropolis. “Maybe he just wants to join his friend Batman in Gotham City when his contract ends?” the chat responds with eye emojis.
We just haven’t seen a lot of those offensive zone forays where he would own the puck and dominate puck possession this season.
And again, it’s an unfair bar, I get that. And it’s very early in the season, so I am not writing this as concrete proof that this season is turning into a giant turd for #43. He is still carrying a heavy load for this team and still being asked to do some tremendous heavy lifting.
But something just feels off. And I don’t want to get too deep into “watching TV and giving my psychological assessment in 30 seconds,” but I do think it’s fair to say he has been visibly frustrated this season, whether that’s in media scrums or on the ice itself. Maybe that’s frustration with himself, or maybe with the team, or maybe his next contract hanging over his head; we have no way of knowing.
What we do know is that when a team starts to struggle, you start looking at everything for answers. Elias Pettersson’s ice time. A first time NHL coach. The fallout from losing the skill of JT Miller at centre. Leaning on PDO benders a little too hard once again. And yes, the Captain of the team slamming his stick a little too hard on the last faceoff of the game.
Is it too early to panic? Of course it is. Eight games is both the longest time in the world in the NHL while also being nothing at all. Fast forward a month and we could be talking about how the Canucks put everything together and Quinn Hughes 13 game point streak has been a huge part of it.
But the talking points are simmering in the background and they will only start to boil if we get to twenty games played and the team is still playing hockey at the level they are now.
And with only one even strength point through eight games, Quinn Hughes will have to be part of the discussion.
I don’t know whether it was fatigue, bad ice conditions, or just general excitement about playing hockey in first city to legalize prostitution, but the Canucks did everything in their power to make hockey look incredibly difficult on this night. Whether it was passing or shooting, it just felt like Vancouver was handling the puck a bit like a hand grenade at all times.
Now, credit to Nashville, as they understand their role in the NHL is to make hockey excruciatingly painful to watch. They do this by skating really hard and taking away time and space. Not to generate thrilling offence, mind you, but just so they can dump the puck into the corner quicker and try and grind along the boards for minutes at a time.
Even on the power play, where you should have time and space to produce fluid puck movement, Vancouver seemed thrown off by Nashville’s insistence on pressuring the puck carrier.
The end result? This was the best chance the Canucks got on the first power play of the game:
They finally manage to move the puck around a bit, but the end result isn’t a high danger chance, oh no. Instead it was our old friend from last year, the point shot of eternal sadness.
Also note Quinn Hughes missing the bouncing puck, leading to a zone exit. On its own, no big deal. Happens all the time to people. That’s a hard puck to contain.
BUT THIS IS QUINN HUGHES, MAN. He would have three guys on him last year and he would like ninja kick his way into keeping the puck into the zone.
We have just seen a lot of moments this season where Hughes hasn’t been able to make the crazy plays he has in the past, and I honestly wonder if the frustration he’s showing is starting to bleed into his game a little bit. Gripping the stick a little too hard as Vito Spatafore would say.
Fun fact: At one point over 1500 sex workers took up shop in Nashville during the Civil War in a place called Smokey Row, leading to one private writing “They say Smokey Row killed more soldiers than the war.” Due to the STDs, you see.
This is why they legalized prostitution, to try and instill health practices and provide medical assistance to lower the amount of sexually transmitted diseases. Which to their credit, it actually worked! STDs began dropping! But then the war ended, and prostitution was illegal again.
All of which is to say this game was very boring but at least the history was exciting.
Tyler Myers tried to get his team going using the skill he knows best: Aggressively forechecking with chaotic intent:
And he does a good job to get the puck back, and ends up finding Drew O’Connor, who spins out and has a choice of either sending it back to Chaos Giraffe for the back door tap in, or send it far boards to Conor Garland who for some reason is calling for the puck from Alabama.
Drew chooses Garland, which is the wrong choice. When you have a chance to feed Tyler Myers in a net front position, you take that all day everyday. I don’t care if you have to feather a little lob pass through the crease, choose Chaos, damn it.
Perhaps insulted by Calendar’s inability to recognize the right play call, Myers completed a tidy bit of business by playing solid defence and separating Michael Bunting from the puck on this puck retrieval:
Now you might be wondering “Gee Wyatt, that clip wasn’t very exciting” but here’s the thing, IT IS EXCITING. For this game at least. Like this is legit a top five play from this game. Take it in, watch it a few times, and by the time this article ends you’ll be back up here apologizing to me and thanking me for including this.
Fun fact #2: Why won’t you see any Jake DeBrusk clips in this article? Because he was absolutely putrid in this game. He was last on the team in Corsi and his xGF% was 2.63%, which basically means anytime the he was on the ice, you were on a bus chuckling about being in danger; He wasn’t generating anything and the other team was generating everything.
But that also kind of shows the power of Jake DeBrusk, I think. I have seen every player criticized this year except for Jake. I don’t know how he does it. Dude is a magician.
Once again let’s head back to the Canucks on the power play and revel in their inability to create shooting lanes or passing lanes, resulting in zone exits.
Up first we have Elias Pettersson scanning the zone, looking for weaknesses, trying to find the right passing option, before promptly using Alex Edler’s ol’ trick, throw it in some shinpads:
Throwing the puck along the boards to the only guy skating in Conor Garland was probably the right play here, but it wasn’t just Elias making mistakes, as Corolla himself would duff a pass off the back of the next on the next offensive zone set up:
The Canucks finally escape the Nashville pressure, they move the puck around and, yeah, just another self-inflicted wound. This was a lot of the game, really. They just never seemed like a fluid team, which part of that is on Nashville making hockey akin to a paper cut on your eye followed up by splashing vinegar in it, but Vancouver did themselves no favours either.
In fact, it was Calendar of all people who probably created the best scoring chances of the first period when twice he found Aatu Räty in front of the net, only for the puck to be sent wide both times:
I have been critical of Drew, but this was one of his better games, even if that bar was low.
I still don’t think a Drew O’Connor shot can be considered a scoring chance, but on a night in which the Canucks looked stuck in the mud, he was at least driving the puck to the net, and he set up a linemate twice with very good passes.
Which is more than I can say for Jake DeBrusk.
You can’t escape everything just because you’re relatable and you enjoy Pokémon Jake! You will pay for your “had a bad night of hockey” crimes! This is the night we bury you! Prepare to be stung!
(this game was really tedious, I’m so sorry, this is all I have.)
When you have a five on three in hockey, usually you would want to score a goal. That feels like a reasonable request.
But the closest the Canucks came to scoring on their two man advantage was Garland trying to clean up a Elias Pettersson pass that was meant for Brock Boeser, but was deflected in the crease:
There was just nothing clean in this game. Every pass, every shot, it just felt like it was hitting something.
And even when the Canucks settled in and looked to break down the Nashville Predators penalty kill? They looked absolutely bewildered by it:
It was as if they had never seen a triangle set up before. Squares? They can handle squares. Lines? No problem. But a triangle? Woah there.
I dunno. That clip doesn’t really inspire confidence. The Canucks get pushed to the outside and they just cannot break through the Nashville penalty killing unit for the life of them. They resort to a wrist shot from the point that Nashville promptly blocks and clears out of the zone. No high danger chances on an extended five on three, unless you count Garland trying to smash in the puck off the deflected pass earlier.
Even worse than that? The Canucks only had five high danger chances on the night. Four of them were in the first period. For the life of me I cannot remember three of them.
They’re making it look so hard. My kid was watching and said wow Hockey looks really hard. I don’t think I’ll play it. I don’t actually have a kid, but if I did, they’d probably say that.
— David Cee(@CanucksIn4) October 24, 2025
When the Canucks started taking penalties in the second period, I assumed Nashville would score because that’s just how hockey works. If you insult the Hockey Gods by not scoring on a two man advantage, they will do their best to humble and humiliate you in response.
But Vancouver actually had better offensive chances in the second period when shorthanded, then they did with the man advantage.
Up first we had Calendar generating a rush chance, as he does, and not scoring, as he does:
Then you had Kiefer Sherwood breaking up a play in the neutral zone and getting a breakaway chance, but he is also denied by Juuse Saros:
This is what life is like when the PDO bender doesn’t go your way, alas.
Luckily for Nashville, Vancouver got another power play, which meant Nashville was able to get the game’s first goal off of a quick counter attack:
Fil Hronek throws a pass to Arshdeep Bains, and he mishandles the pass, allowing Ryan O’Reilly to walk down Thatcher Demko and beat him clean.
To me, Ryan O’Reilly will always be that guy from Oz, so I am also kind of weirded out when I have to write about Ryan O’Reilly in the NHL.
Both of them are similar, however, in that they both make watching hockey feel depressing and hopeless.
Max Sasson did not have good underlying stats in this game! In fact, he kind of got crushed in his audition as the second line centre between Jake and Brock.
But a lot of people got crushed in this game (looking at you Jake), and at least Max got this sweet, sweet goal off of a great outlet pass from Linus Karlsson:
The dude has good speed. That’s a fantastic spin move to get himself behind the Nashville defence. The finish is so clean that even Max doesn’t look too excited about scoring. He acts like he’s been there before. This is a Calder Cup winning man we’re talking about after all.
But yes, ultimately this is probably the high point of the game for the Canucks. Tied 1-1 with the Nashville Predators.
I still love me some Max, even if he isn’t ready for a top six role quite yet. In a perfect world he goes back to the Castle Fun Park Line when the Canucks have a full roster, and he goes back to crushing competition on the bottom six.
Heck, Linus Karlsson played with Max only briefly during a line change and he got an assist on the goal.
The power of the CFP line cannot be disputed.
The defensive enthusiast Elias Pettersson had himself a John Tortorella shift late in the second period, when he blocked three shots on the same shift:
The Elias Pettersson who wears number 25 is someone I have enjoyed watching. Plays the game tough, doesn’t back down from a fight, but also doesn’t wander off to another zip code to try and hunt for huge hits so that Rick Tocchet takes him to his new team with him. He just plays solid, no nonsense hockey.
Well, a bit of nonsense. Having two Elias Pettersson’s is silly, we all know it.
But overall, I enjoy his game very much.
To end the second period of highlights, here is Tyler Myers both shooting a puck into an odd man rush, and then ending said odd man rush, I.E. the most Chaos Giraffe thing ever:
And just in case we didn’t talk about it, Thatcher Demko is the last problem this team has, as he continues to play like last season never happened:
#Canucks
I wish O'Connor was an ACTUAL offensive threat. The guy has had 3 or 4 recent breakaways and has done EXACTLY NOTHING with them.
—(@aesius1) October 24, 2025
I might be the biggest fan of the play of DOC this season, but at least he’s generating rushes on net?
Like, give him credit, he’s out here fighting for pucks and doing his best.
Right, Jake?
(I told you I was coming for you.)
Cole Smith put this game away at the start of the third period with our old friend, the “point shot of eternal sadness”:
Except in this case, Nashville got the deflection, and the puck just barely squeaked by Thatcher Demko. I cannot think of a better ending to this game than a goal that looked like it took a painful amount of effort to go in the net. It felt very apt.
Meanwhile we had a rare offensive Quinn Hughes sighting in which he took the puck and circled behind the net before finding Brock Boeser for the shot on net:
That’s what we mean when we talk about Quinn looking slightly off this season. He isn’t going full Superman on plays.
Which, yeah, I agree, that probably shouldn’t be your game plan on how to win games every night, and probably was their game plan every night last year. So in a way, this hopefully exposes some roster issues this team needs to address, rather than going “Sure hope Quinn can do everything again”.
The problem with Quinn being off, and Elias Pettersson still stuck in “the underlying numbers are good, it should turn around soon?” is you end up with games like this more often than not, especially with the centre depth this team currently has.
Pls don't tell me that EP40 is turning out to be Loui Eriksson 2.0#Canucks
— Don (@EDDIE_TRECE) October 24, 2025
I swear to god, Elias Pettersson used to race down the ice and unleash laser beams for goals:
Man.
I think the Canucks hoped Brock still had a little magic in his stick too, as their best chances to end the game were from his stick.
First you had Quinn Hughes sending it in the general direction of Brock and Jake, and since Jake refused to play hockey on the night, Boeser got his stick on a rebound in the crease:
And then with the clock winding down and Nashville fans reliving the game four downfall in their head, Boeser actually got off a fantastic one timer from the slot, only to be thwarted with an equally fantastic save from Saros:
And that was the ballgame.
The Canucks lost 2-1 and I am pretty sure we are never going to want to talk about this game ever again.
Hughes body language is not great lol he was pissed when Macus Pettersson took this Pim. He looks very frustrated lately #Canucks
—-Rutherford's-Calder Cup Champions
As I said earlier, I won’t dive too deep into what is driving the frustration of Quinn Hughes, but we can say that he is showing frustration very clearly on the ice.
He had a very noticeable shaking of the head skating for the final faceoff:
And he had a very noticeable stick slam to let Evander Kane know he he needed to get in the right spot for the faceoff:
Which hey, the team is losing and not playing that well. Hughes himself is not piling up the points. Getting frustrated isn’t some unique situation for the Canucks captain. But it does stand out just in the sense that he hasn’t done it to this level in the past, expressing himself with a bit of that JT Miller flair.
And I’ve talked about this last season, but even his media scrums, he just does not seem like a person who is enjoying the game of hockey:
Which again, isn’t unique to Quinn. A lot of players don’t enjoy talking to the media at the best of times, much less after another loss at the end of a road trip.
But when you have an expiring contract coming up, and we seemingly can’t go a day without someone from New Jersey giggling and winking about what the future may hold, the noise is only going to get louder as the season continues.
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The Vancouver Canucks have made a roster move ahead of tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. On Saturday morning, the club announced that they had recalled defenceman Victor Mancini from AHL Abbotsford, while sending Tom Willander back down.
The Canucks recalled Willander, along with centre Nils Aman, earlier this week after losing multiple bodies during the back half of their most recent road trip. The Canucks sent Victor Mancini earlier this week, and while the club requested special permission from the NHL to allow them to call Mancini back up before he played a game in Abbotsford — a new rule to limit team’s ability to execute paper transactions — that request was denied. Because Mancini played last night in Abbotsford however, he was eligible for a recall today.
Mancini turned in a strong training camp and preseason, but was among the final cuts from the Canucks’ opening night NHL roster. It didn’t take long for Mancini to earn his first call up however, as the Canucks have been dealing with the absence of Derek Forbort, who has appeared in just two games this season. Mancini should get a solid chance to play, as PO Joseph didn’t exactly run with his opportunity in the lineup, and Forbort is still expected to be out for a while. Canucks GM Patrik Allvin provided the following update on Forbort yesterday:
“Forbort had a little bit of a setback here. So, I would say he’s week-to-week. Probably the problem here is that, you know, with a condensed schedule, it’s so hard to get the practice time in. So, for some of those guys that are injured, just finding the rhythm and finding the ice time, it’s been a challenge for us up to this point. But I would probably have Forbort more as week-to-week.”
Mancini has appeared in four games with the Canucks this season, and has yet to record a point.
Check out our preview of tonight’s game by clicking here!
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It was all going so well. And then a Vancouver Canucks game broke out.
Vancouver’s 4-3 loss on home(?) ice to the Montreal Canadiens was far from the Canucks’ worst game of the season. They actually played some of their best hockey of the year in the first half of the game, fending off the highest scoring team in the NHL with aggressive forechecking, smart defence and some timely goaltending.
Heck, this game was even great in some ways. Elias Pettersson, snake bitten all season, turned in a classic three-point performance, carrying the Canucks on his shoulders just like the good old days! But when a few of his teammates made key mistakes and the wheels started coming off in the third, the momentum bus happened to be driving right towards Le Grand Canyon. And off they went.
After the road trip the Canucks had, this game can very well be looked at as a net positive from the scoring perspective. But any time you allow four unanswered goals and blow a 2-0 lead, someone’s gonna take part of the blame.
The Canadiens didn’t bring their A-game, but they made their opportunities count, especially on the power play. Kevin Lankinen allowed a subpar goal or two, D-Petey and P-O Joseph were drowning trying to keep up with the speedy Habs, and Evander Kane continued to be Evander Kane. It was death by a thousand paper cuts, and no amount of star player bandages could cover them all.
The annual Habs Nation road trip to Vancouver is a key part of the annual Canucks experience, albeit far less annoying than the Toronto Maple Leafs version. But this game had a new twist; specifically, what happens when a lot of Canucks fans don’t even want to attend.
The cheapest seat in the building until puck drop was over $100 on the resale market. Even with time running out, the price the Canucks set for student rush tickets was still $79. Not exactly Cup Noodles and Kraft Dinner prices.
These Canadiens fans were ready from the jump and made their presence known all game.
Pettersson with a creative drop pass that creates the opening he needed to score. Petey being creative = good things#Canucks
—(@trentleith.bsky.social) 2025-10-25T23:24:19.826Z
The Habs fans might’ve been ready for puck drop, but their team wasn’t prepared for Elias Pettersson.
EP40 was on it from shift one, first battling with old foe Mike Matheson near the net front and making Jakub Dobes’ life difficult by putting the puck between his legs off a carom near the side of the net.
Then, he and the Canucks showed what they can do when they get a real rush chance, and that’s so god damned MAGIC.
First, Conor Garland draws Oliver Kapanen away from the middle to the boards, and takes a hit to make the pass to EP40. Petey enters the zone, and knowing he has Filip Hronek trailing feeds him a back pass. Hronek pulls four Canadiens to his side of the ice, long enough for Petey to park him in the open ice and wait for a perfect pass.
Dobes is so caught off guard by how open Petey is, he throws his stick live a javelin like his save selection chip short circuited. “AH, PLAYER ALERT! INITIATE SELF DESTRUCT!”
1-0 for the good guys, and the Petey naysayers are quieted for another day.
John Shorthouse is the Martha Stewart of NHL commentary. No, I don’t mean he’s committed insider trading, I mean his advice will make your house into a home!
I’d hear what he has to say about throw pillows and cooking a four-course meal any day of the week.
Kiefer Sherwood’s energy knows no bounds, and he draws penalties like few others can. If the Canadiens were upset about the calls against them in the Edmonton Oilers matchup on Thursday, it hadn’t subsided by this game.
The Canucks’ first power play didn’t amount to anything, but the penalty set the table for the night.
I don’t think Conor Garland got the memo that Wyatt had tonight off, because he turned in another fantastic night that I now have to do justice.
Is Alex Carrier the biggest guy on the ice? Definitely not. But it’s still a phenomenal experience watching a 5-foot-10 Corolla sit him right down near the boards.
It’s such a smooth hit too. It happens so quickly that I wouldn’t be surprised if Carrier just saw a flash of black, yellow and red before he knew he was landing on his derriere.
I’ve covered three games so far this season. In each one of them there has been a ‘Biggest Disaster’, and it’s been the same guy every time.
Who was Evander Kane passing to? The world may never know, but some friendly advice from your neighbourhood goaltender. If you EVER make a cross-ice pass under pressure in your own zone and it gets picked off, be prepared for your netminder to absolutely throw hands at you during the intermission. Don’t test us.
Lukas Reichel, welcome to Vancouver!
Your mission, if you choose to accept it: immediately jump into a top-six role as a centre, a position the Chicago Blackhawks rarely put you in, and tread above water against a Canadiens team that’s been firing on all cylinders. Simple enough, right?
Reichel’s first game as a Canucks was definitely subpar (no points and on the ice for two goals against), but that’s to be expected for a player who hasn’t had the benefit of a single practice to adjust to a new team and situation. If there’s ever a time for a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card, it’s here.
But Reichel did expose a part of Jakub Dobes’ play that a different team might’ve jumped on more efficiently. And that was Dobes’ rebound control.
The 24 year-old from Ostrava, Czechia was one of the best goalie stories of last year, and with five wins so far this year, he’s picked up right where he left off in 2024-25. But if the Canucks had paid a little more attention to the front of the net, they would’ve noticed that he was giving out a lot of juicy rebounds in this game.
Reichel inadvertently figured this out, after Brock Boeser picked off a Habs clearing attempt and fed him the puck. Reichel’s shot under pressure hit Dobes squarely in the left pad and dribbled right into the highest danger zone for a rebound. Sadly, no one was there to tap it in.
Dobes’ struggles to corral the puck or kick it out with authority was a theme today, and presented the Canucks with more opportunities than they realized they had. It just didn’t amount to much.
Now Ivan Demidov trips a linesman while entering the offensive zone.
Habs punishing the officials tonight
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) October 26, 2025
The current biggest battle in the sporting world isn’t between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s between the Canadiens and NHL’s referees.
Look how Brandon Schrader makes an extra effort to skate right in Ivan Demidov’s blind spot as he spins around near the boards, taking the ref’s legs out from underneath him and forcing a turnover. “You DARE complain about our calls, peasant? Feel the wrath of me being right in your way!”
Referees: For legal purposes, this is a joke. Please don’t take this as an excuse to give the Canucks more PKs, there’s only so many goals I can clip a night.
Right as the Canadiens were starting to sustain some pressure in the Canucks’ zone, Joe Veleno took an offensive zone penalty when he tripped P-O Joseph. A clear chance for the Canucks to widen the gap on the power play, but they’d need to win the faceoff clean.
Pettersson gets no help as two Habs swarm on the tie up, but his three wingers all skate for the puck heading to the corner. That leaves Quinn Hughes as the only man back right as Jake Evans finds Josh Anderson streaking through the middle for a shorthanded breakaway.
Anderson beats Lankinen, but not the iron.
A close call, but they’re still alive. Time to make Montreal regret that miss.
In today’s Stanchies Pregame video (please go like and subscribe for more Stanchies-related shenanigans) I talked about how the Canucks have no goals from near the blue line – compared to Montreal’s four – and that needed to change.
This goal technically will go down as another deflected puck in front, but the bones of what I was talking about was there. Namely, Quinn Hughes stepping into a shot with the power and speed of a Max Verstappen-piloted Red Bull.
Elias Pettersson fed Hughes the puck for the one-timer, giving him his second point of the night, while Jake DeBrusk was the one to get his stick on the howitzer for his second goal of the season.
Between this picture perfect goal and the Anderson post at the other end, could the Canucks’ luck finally be turning?
When the Canadiens score at Rogers Arena, its hard to feel the way one does when 49ers fans show up en masse to the LA Rams’ shiny new stadium. One of these fanbases is inescapable, and it shows.
After Arber Xhekaj and Linus Karlsson take penalties a minute apart, the Canadiens are able to start tilting the ice at 4v4. Montreal’s speed and skill starts to factor in more with extra room on the ice, and the chase commences.
Once Xhekaj’s penalty expires and the Habs have the extra man, it starts turning into inevitable Globetrotter ball. As the Canucks’ penalty killers all drop to block an Ivan Demidov shot that never comes, chaos ensues. The rookie feeds Nick Suzuki waiting on the other side, who rips it into the yawning cage.
Surely this WON’T become a trend!
The Dawg Ratings might be a stat long lost to us at CanucksArmy, ever since Chris Faber went to fight laser dolphins in Guam. But if we did still have that stat, I’m certain Kiefer Sher-wood be firmly planted at the top.
On this play, Sherwood’s stick breaks for the thousandth time, but that doesn’t stop him from chasing down Lane Hutson to the complete other end of the ice and bowling him over in the attacking zone like a rogue defensive back in Madden.
If you wouldn’t run through a brick wall for Keef, you might be dead inside.
The Canucks had controlled Montreal through the first half of the game pretty well. They were leading shots, they’d gotten practically all the best scoring chances, and importantly, looked comfortable doing so.
So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that once the second period ended, the bottom immediately fell out.
First the Canucks started the final frame shorthanded, thanks to this Aatu Räty trip called at the buzzer in the second.
With the Habs’ potent power play running the Canucks’ penalty killer ragged, it took a broken play to beat Kevin Lankinen. Lane Huston’s shot ends up hitting his teammate Demidov standing in front of the net, who smartly pokes it to Juraj Slafkovský waiting near the short side. Slafkovský’s stick collides with Marcus Pettersson’s as he shoots, breaking it in two. But the puck had gotten off the blade first. Tie game.
Clearly, letting the Canadiens power play set up is a recipe for total disaster. The two-goal lead is already blown, but only an idiot would take a bad penalty and force his penalty killers to face them again.
Just when the Canucks needed a hero, Evander Kane shows up wearing Tim Robinson’s hot dog costume instead.
This is where Kane takes an egregious penalty, cross-checking Cole Caufield in the offensive zone for no good reason. He could’ve tried to cut him off near the boards and muscle him off the puck instead, but he opts for the lazier route instead.
“You call that a f***ing penalty?! For what?!” Kane repeatedly barks at the ref. Either he was playing dumb, or is just that dense. Who’s to say?
That fourth round pick to the Oilers is looking more and more like an overpay every game.
Lucky for Kane, the Canucks penalty kill does come through and kill the man advantage. But the Habs don’t wait long to make them pay after it expires, and Kane has a front row seat when Mike Matheson steps into the high slot and rifles a shot off bar down past Lankinen for Montreal’s first lead of the night.
We all missed the Blue Jays playing in the World Series for this.
The third period wasn’t all bad. Elias Pettersson was determined to make sure of it.
The Canucks fans in the building hadn’t had much to cheer about in the final frame. EP40 brought them back to life with a thunderous hit on the Canadiens’ captain.
If more of his teammates can find that urgency and intensity, maybe this game isn’t lost!
Orrrr… a defensive breakdown can lead to Ivan Demidov teeing off on the Canucks instead.
Look. I know I’m the eternal goalie defender. But in this particular scenario, that’s a save you need Kevin Lankinen to make. It’s not his fault his defenders didn’t clear the zone and Demidov was that open, but he didn’t help matters by being so deep in his crease when the puck was around the perimeter. Lanks simply left too much room in the top corner for a sniper like Demidov to aim for.
Someone is not happy on the Canucks bench
: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/RJvTBoxpZ4
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) October 26, 2025
Which Canuck is yelling at his teammates right after the Demidov goal? Vote now on your phones and we’ll announce a winner tomorrow! (Editor’s note: the prize is knowledge.)
Needing two goals in four minutes, Adam Foote hooked Lankinen for the extra attacker. Right off the faceoff, we see a level of methodical, surgical precision that you only wish the Canucks had found a little earlier.
Pettersson wins the O-zone draw, DeBrusk parks himself in front of Dobes, Hughes passes back off to EP40, who uses Corolla Garland’s stick blade like a pinball trigger for the puck.
THIS is the Alien we’re used to seeing wearing the #40 jersey. If there’s anything positive you should take from this game, it’s that Elias Pettersson is getting rewarded like Elias Pettersson again.
THIS is the game we (and Petey, probably) have been waiting for.
The Canucks very nearly tied this game twice in the dying moments.
The first opportunity was courtesy of another EP40 shot from the flank, but this time the puck gets to Hronek pinching near the net. His shot is stopped by Dobes, and so is Garland’s backhander that floats up into the air.
For a brief moment, time stands still. Then the puck lands right on into a mess of humanity that no one can knock into the net.
Then in the last few seconds, Garland found Brock Boeser in the slot, but he couldn’t get a clean shot through as he lost an edge.
Canadiens clear, game set and match.
Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Vancouver #Canucks have interest in Bruins centre Pavel Zacha
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) October 26, 2025
The Canucks have one game plan for fixing their now below .500 hockey team, and it’s an epiphany they’ve had before: trade for Pavel Zacha.
If it feels like you’ve seen this movie before, where Elliotte Friedman talks on Hockey Night in Canada about the Canucks wanting to acquire Zacha to fix their issues at centre, you’d be correct. In fact, here’s a nearly identical clip from all the way back in February of 2022 about the exact same trade target!
I don’t know who exactly needs to hear this, but you can’t just solve all your problems with some Pavel Zacha. It might make them a little better down the middle, but they’re also not a Zacha away from being a contender. You need bigger fixes than that.
But that’s a decision for another day.
Poor Brock, you could always tell how much he loved and adored Coolie.pic.twitter.com/ze1JhKACd8
— Coco (@AllLoveCoco) October 25, 2025
Coolie Boeser, Brock Boeser’s lovely rescue dog, sadly passed away last week.
Boeser took time away from the team to be with his beloved pet in Coolie’s last days before crossing the rainbow bridge, a decision any person with a heart wouldn’t dare criticize. When my family lost our first two dogs, Scooby in 2016 and Luna in 2022, I was truly devastated. Just as I will be the day my parents’ current pooches, Norbert and Kingsley, decide to leave this mortal realm (which hopefully won’t be for a long time).
Pets are family, just as much a part of every joyous moment or sad occasion as any human, including a lot of your favourite sports memories. I’ll remember Scooby and Luna’s barking after Burrows slayed the dragon in 2011 just as much I do the goal itself. And if you’ve had a pet, you probably have a similar story with your animal companions.
So, to celebrate the legacy Coolie leaves behind, here are some of your lovely pets, each as important a member of Canucks Nation as the rest of us.
Ella doesn’t like being around while I scream erratically at the screen but here she is anyway. pic.twitter.com/8aGaVuEhAg
— Fish Dancer(@fishdancer) October 26, 2025
We’ve missed this good boys for 3 years now.
— Optimistic Canuck (@optimisticcanuck.bsky.social) 2025-10-26T00:14:16.544Z
At game tonight, here’s us (Wolfie) on Thursday in Kelowna
—) (@cathyrd.bsky.social) 2025-10-26T00:25:57.928Z
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Where were you when Kiefer Sherwood went off against the Edmonton Oilers?
Now, this isn’t about gaudy numbers. Kiefer didn’t show up Sunday night and score eight points before taunting the Oilers bench while D-Generation X’s theme song went off in the background, living out the dream.
But in terms of having a hell of a game for a guy who is looking to score big on his next contract? Well, let’s just say Kiefer has some grade-A video material for his resume from the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-3 overtime win over the Oilers.
Yes, in a game in which Quinn Hughes was out with the dreaded lower-body injury, which can mean anything from a hangnail to a disastrous result of a housefly getting involved in a teleportation experiment, the Canucks needed players to step up.
You had your usuals in Brock Boeser (1g, 2a), Conor Garland (2 a, one bada$$ grinding shift), and Thatcher Demko (got the dub).
You had your “Yeah, I’m thinking I’m back” performance from Elias Pettersson in the form of some offensive zone swagger and a vintage one-timer goal on the power play, even if he got a bit slaughtered on the “little things” side of the ice.
And then you had Kiefer Sherwood, who is now up to six goals on the season, a man who doesn’t need assists in his life. He shows up to dinner and says, “I only eat meat, thank you,” before throwing the carrots onto the ground, and then proceeds to go bar down over the waiter’s shoulder.
“Where did he get that puck? Why is he shooting it past the waiter??” you ask?
“It doesn’t matter.” I gently reply, before telling you that you are loved.
Heck, if it wasn’t for Tyler Myers going full Chaos Giraffe in this one, it would have been a hat trick for Sherwood.
Hell, it could have been four goals if the first time Kiefer attempted to dangle his dingle resulted in a goal.
The guy was locked in. You could feel it. The fans could feel it. Hell, rumour has it for a brief moment Crazy P stopped shouting and banging his drum in your aunt’s face, just to take it all in.
Which was why when the Canucks deployed an overtime unit of Boeser, Garland and Sherwood, you didn’t even blink twice. No Quinn Hughes? No problem. You could almost hear the NBA Jam guy screaming about Sherwood heating up as he jumped over the ice for his overtime shift.
And when Brock Boeser took a long-distance shot in overtime, normally the universal sign of “I got nothing else, let’s hope this works” in the extra frame, you knew he was making the right play because he was shooting it in Kiefer’s general direction, which was clearly the best option on the night.
And when Kiefer tipped in that shot for the goal to send Edmonton home tired, sad, and bereft of two points in this game, back to a city whose entire identity hinges upon people enjoying their really big mall? It was a good moment for a team that was in desperate need of one.
We’ve talked about not knowing what this team is yet and the early-season struggles they’ve gone through. But on this night, you know what?
That was a pretty fun hockey game. And sometimes it’s nice just to enjoy that.
Let’s make some gif money.
Mancini is in for Quinn Hughes tonight, as per HC Adam Foote. Hughes is day-to-day with a lower body injury. #Canucks
— Izzy(@izzycheung37) October 26, 2025
As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Quinn Hughes is out with an undisclosed injury. I’d like to believe he kicked a door really hard after watching his brothers go on an eight-game winning streak without him, but alas, it’s most likely a mundane scenario.
The hope is “day to day” doesn’t turn into “week to week” as it so often does in the NHL, but if you’re a pure optimist who likes to pretend the celestial being of your choice only gives you what you can handle in life, then consider this a perfect chance for the Canucks to showcase what life is like when you don’t have the “Get out of jail free” card of giving the puck to Quinn Hughes 30 minutes a night.
Petey and Sherwood are on fire. This is fun. #Canucks
— Canuck Girl
Sometimes the Canucks like to start off games by testing their relationship with you. They want to make sure you’re committed to them before they go all in with you. So sometimes they like to sit back and make you suffer to see if you’re really ride or die with them in the form of painfully boring first periods.
If you’re not willing to be their at their worst, why do you think you deserve to be their at their best??
It’s a toxic mindset, but in the words of Tony Soprano, what are you gonna do?
The good news is that on Sunday night, the Canucks actually started the game off strong. The underlying stats, however, heavily favoured the Oilers after one period, giving the edge to Edmonton 25-12 in Corso, and 5-1 in the high danger chances, which I chalk up to several things:
- One, I will never understand Natural Stat Tricks parameters for high danger chances. I’ve seen breakaways and goals themselves not be listed as high danger chances but Tyler Myers dumping the puck in from center counts for four. Which ok, in hindsight, that probably is Tyler Myers most lethal spot on the ice. But since goals don’t get listed as a high danger chance (which I will yell at clouds about on another day, why are we separating goals from this, what is the point of life), Kiefer Sherwood’s dingle-dangle-what’s-your-angle deke that resulted in him getting a shot from about a foot out was listed as the only high danger chance for Vancouver. Which brings me to my second point which is-
- Two, Thatcher Demko plays so stunningly effective at times that he makes hard saves look routine, it’s something we’ve talked about plenty of times. Realistically, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both had incredible looks on net in the opening frame, but Demko looked so ho-hum about everything that it didn’t really register. It’s like that scene in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the guy with the sword does a bunch of flippy moves and wows the crowd but Harrison Ford just pulls out a gun and shoots him. I don’t doubt that that guy was probably the Connor McDavid of swordsman and could have slaughtered endless people, before signing a two year extension where you’re thinking “is he trying to leave us?” But when you have Thatcher Demko locked in, sometimes he pulls out a pistol and we all move on.
- Seriously, at one point McDavid deked Defensive Enthusiast Elias Pettersson out of his jock with a spin move and walked in alone on Demko, but Thatcher was like “ok sure buds” and then five seconds later Brock scored.
- Three, we need a new stat called “Expected Scoring Chances” (shout out to Trent) or something because even though Edmonton played well, I truly think the underlying stats don’t give credit to the fight the Canucks brought to this game.
I know the Canucks have been PDO merchants in the past, but this was a game in which it felt like at least Vancouver was generating zone time and chances, even if it wasn’t result in the scoring chances they’d like. They weren’t just sitting back holding on for dear life and praying that this would be the 1-0, 12 shot game in which Drew O’Connor would score on a breakaway.
Either way, it was fun seeing Elias Pettersson look like Elias Pettersson? Sign me up for Conor Garland being the fixer guy, so staple him to EP40’s side the rest of the year if it keeps sparking this:
Sometimes I wonder if Corolla and Elias both want the puck on their stick at all times, which might make their chemistry struggle to take off, but they’re also two high IQ players who seem to be feeding off thinking the game at a high level right now. If Garland can find EP40 in the slot and let him try and do his dekes, the Canucks will be a better team for it.
And speaking of Kiefer Sherwood’s big game, he let you know very early on that he was out here trying to score the goal of the month:
Things to note on this chance:
- If Kiefer had popped his head up and looked where he was shooting, he might have been able to place a better shot blocker side. I don’t know if he wanted five-hole, or just rushed his shot and put the puck into the goalie, but it’s still one of the most thrilling rushes by a Canuck player this season. I also assume he then entered an Inigo Montoya like blood oath to score an insane goal later in the game.
- If you were at the game and were wondering why your seat was missing a cup holder, but came with a jock strap, that would be Evan Bouchard’s property. Please return it.
- Tyler Myers is the king of the bank pass on this team. Dude just has that special feel for clap bombing pucks off the boards, as he does here to set this break out in motion. Also, please savour this praise because oh my goodness does prime Chaos Giraffe show up in this game later.
And even when Edmonton got an early power play, it was Vancouver generating a good scoring chance off of it:
Thatcher Demko makes the big save on Leon Draisaitl, which leads to Elias Pettersson starting a counter rush, which ends in Jake DeBrusk sending in a shot on Calvin Pickard.
You can see when Elias is feeling it because he doesn’t just grab that rebound and clear the puck, you see him slow things down briefly before finding Jake on the play, he has that confidence to hold on to the puck. Something some would say Tyler Myers sometimes has too much of.
And then we had Filip Hronek breaking up a pass from a Connor McDavid rush, leading to Elias Pettersson skating hard into the zone and almost catching Pickard with a backhander:
I still want to see more shots from EP40 (ended the night with just the two), as I think the Canucks would love to be in a world in which he is landing five shots on net a night, but at least we’re seeing the confidence coming back to his game as of late.
Also shout out to Filip Hronek, who along with Marcus Pettersson, carried the ice time load for the Canucks. Both defenseman play 27+ minutes on the night, a game in which Hronek had to battle through what looked like a big hit to his shoulder, and an injury to Vittorio Mancini that took him out of the game near the end of the second period.
But you know what they say in Vancouver, when it rains, well, it always rains.
The power of Demko made it seem like Vancouver dominated the first period, but as I said earlier, this was a close game the entire night.
But unlike some of the games this season, it felt like a lot of players were having moments or shifts where they shined for Vancouver. Like we weren’t watching a dude blast a puck off the glass for the thirtieth time and wondering why do people pay to watch this.
Instead we had Vittorio MANcini shut down Curtis Lazar along the boards:
And look, I am not suggesting the former Canuck is a nightmare of sorts to deal with in the offensive zone, but that puck along the boards, it could have very easily ended in a Lazar breakaway if Vittorio doesn’t skate hard with him and harass Lazar into the corner.
We also had Lukas Reichel playing his second game for Vancouver, if nothing else he is letting Drew O’Connor know that he, too, can almost score a lot of goals:
I joke, but the reality is that Reichel? He had a solid game for Vancouver. He had four chances in this game where it looked like he could have scored, and if Stuart Skinner was in net, he probably walks away with two goals on this night. He also went 8/13 in the faceoff circle on the night, something the Canucks have struggled with this season.
I know Connor McDavid is the Bay Harbor Butcher, I just can’t prove it yet. I know this because he murdered defensive hobby Elias Pettersson on this play and got away with it:
You can tell McDavid figured out what he was going to do with this puck around five seconds before anyone else did. He just has an absurdly amount of talent that is almost good enough to beat Florida.
But since Demko is Demko, he just casually makes the save. Pulls out his gun, mama just killed a man, and we’re off to the Bohemian Rhapsody races.
Fun fact: I originally mistakenly wrote it as the “Bayside Butcher” which would be a wildly different take on Saved By the Bell. Is it the crossover we need?
Fun fact #2: Immediately after that save, Brock Boeser would score to make it 1-0:
Full credit to Evander Kane, he hunts this puck and makes the perfect pass over to Boeser for the finish.
I find Evander Kane is a lot like a stove, he’s either off or on, but you never know when? I think he tends to be more “on” when it’s an offensive zone chance, and more “off” when it involves defense, so in many ways it’s like JT Miller never left us.
The underlying stats show the tale, Edmonton was able to generate more clear and consistent high danger chances than Vancouver, perhaps none bigger in the opening frame then this breakaway stop on Isaac Howard:
Howard tries a little deke, but Demko barely moves and just shuts it down quicker than my attempts at finding a consistent source of happiness in my life.
Elias Pettersson and the Powerplays, aka that indie band you recommended to everyone at work, made it 2-0 for the Canucks off a familiar sight; An Elias Pettersson one timer:
Yes, that is vintage EP40 right there, as the Canucks passed the puck around until they could get it back to Pettersson with some time and space to fire off his best piss missile of the season from the Swede.
And look, there is nothing good about a team missing Quinn Hughes, let’s get that out of the way right now. It would be like me saying I enjoy owning no clothes because it really lets me get in touch with nature and appreciate Malaria more.
But if there was any small glimmer of lining tinged with silver on Hughes being out, maybe it’s EP40 being “the man” on the first unit powerplay. He’s the first option to shoot with Hughes out, so he’s the first option they look for on the powerplay right now. They cycle the puck and try to get him good looks. Maybe this will help him recover some of that shooter mentality that’s gone missing from his game.
I still live cannot for the life of me understand the Oilers trying the Skinner/Pickard combo for yet another year in a row, but that is where we find ourselves. So it’s understandable if Edmonton fans are often caught wondering “what if…” when watching other goalies make saves like this:
The Canucks played well, but I’m telling you, Demko made this game seem more tilted than it actually was. That’s a highlight reel save off of Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, but because Demko basically refuses to move, and doesn’t swim in his crease launching into a Scorpion save (get over here!), I think it can be easy to think “oh well, that wasn’t THAT hard of a save, Demko barely had to move.”
But that’s the power of Demko, man. He doesn’t fall for your shit. He’s a real straight shooter with you. He’s the guy who tells you that tells you your cinnamon buns were actually kind of undercooked while the rest of the people stand around pretending to love them. He’s the guy who goes on Reddit to tell you that you WERE overreacting and you WERE the asshole.
Lukas Reichel had a great period in the dot.
5/5 in the first period.
— 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 Faber(@ChrisFaber39) October 27, 2025
Lukas Reichel had no points on the night, but you know what, I enjoyed the game he brought on the night. His usage as a center in the NHL has been tenuous, and I don’t know how far it will go with Vancouver, but hey he won some faceoffs and he was driving hard to the middle of the ice trying to get shots on net:
He even followed up on that shot with a slick little pass to Tyler Myers for the tap in attempt. That slight delay he has, holding onto the puck, that opens up that scoring chance, that’s some confident shit right there. Unfortunately he doesn’t know that the Chaos Giraffe needs chaotic energy to score. Lukas has no idea that the right play with CG57 is to fire the puck with your eyes closed in the general direction of him while softly singing “Papa don’t preach” under your breath.
The point is, give me the Drew O’Connors and Lukas Reichel’s generating endless chances over nothing, as long as they don’t get buried in their own end (they were both decent on the night in this regards).
You know the Canucks are feeling it when Arshdeep Bains puts aside his NHL lunch bucket and picks up his AHL wand of wizardy and tries to deke through the Oilers team:
You also know they’re feeling it when Calendar almost rips home the one timer, only to get foiled by the post:
Once again I have to point out that Chaos Giraffe starts this rush, pushing the Oilers back on their heels before finding Aatu Räty with the pass, who then locates DOC for the ping.
I only say this because the streets are very angry with Chaos Giraffe for his part on all three of the Oilers goals. And don’t get me wrong, he made some bad plays on them. He deserves some time to sit by himself and feel shame.
But he also did some good things in this game that ultimately didn’t find the scoresheet so it was easy to brush them aside.
His evil chaos was flashier than his lawful chaos on this night.
With the game at 2-0, Calendar rushes up the ice before finding Kiefer Sherwood, and seemingly making it 3-0.
Unfortunately, Tyler Myers joined the rush and was a little too eager and put the Canucks offside:
With that being said:
- That’s a great looking rush from Calendar. Dude chips the puck by his man, then drives the zone and backs Bouchard up and away from Sherwood, before dropping a slick backhand pass over to Kiefer.
- Räty understood the assignment and held up properly
- That’s an absolutely clinical finish from Sherwood
- Yes, Tyler Myers ruined this entire play.
Back to Demko, here he is making another amazing save on Hopkins:
That fact Demko had to trail his pad behind him means this was the equivalent of Dominik Hasek splaying out in the crease to make a huge save. When Demko has to slightly move a limb, that’s a sign that the shot was next to perfect. That’s all we ever get from Demko in terms of knowing if a shot was hard for him to handle.
We then had McDavid commit the rare double murder on EP25, as he the second he saw the whites of Pettersson’s eyes go towards the boards, McDavid hit the damn turbo button and skated right on by him:
Imagine Sean Bean talking to you and telling you “There is no such thing as simply angling McDavid off towards the boards” and you have a succinct summary of this play.
Tyler Myers then politely slides himself out of the way, allowing Demko to make another save look easy.
At one point it looked like the Canucks might lose the services of Fil Hronek after this collision where you can’t tell if he hurt his shoulder more on the play, or his face:
Either way, he would return later in the game, but you also have to wonder how he’s going to be feeling tomorrow morning.
Leon Draisaitl finally got Edmonton on the boards when he snuck in behind the Canucks defense, most notably behind Tyler Myers:
It was a poorly timed line change, and yeah, as a defenseman you should probably be aware that Leon of all people is behind you, sprinting directly to Raccoon City.
But Leon is also apparently a good hockey player, so he tends to do things like this.
It’s probably a solid mixture of “Leon knows puck” and “Myers wtf are you doing” if we’re being honest.
But once again, the good chaos that doesn’t show up on the scoresheet, was crucial for the Canucks third goal.
With Myers screaming at EP25 to wheel the puck around the boards, EP25 sends the puck along the boards to Brock Boeser. Boeser, already having scored his goal of the night, does a quick little tap of a pass over to Kiefer, and you know what, I’ll let you watch it play out:
That’s goal of the month shit right there. I thought the first dangle attempt from Kiefer in the first period was good, but this was one was downright demonic. This is the goal you send to Patrik Allvin and any other GM who is interested in your services. Just put that bad boy on loop and then wait for the cheques. That’s a goal you see happen in EA Sports and you’re like “nah man, this is too arcadey, this isn’t realistic at all, bring back the 2K franchise.”
If this goal gets scored on me online I’m unplugging my console and finally taking up crocheting. Birds need hats too.
This goal put the Canucks up 3-1, but much like the first period, the Oilers won the underlying stats battle. 17-13 in Corsi, 4-1 in high danger chances. I’m not saying the Canucks didn’t play well, I’m just saying the third period comeback from the Oilers wasn’t out of left field.
It wasn’t just the blocked shot on this play, it was the fact EP40 chased down McDavid on the play and then protected the middle of the ice when Connor got away from him:
The “little things” in hockey are a curse and a boon. When you only have “little things”, people dislike you and sneer at them. But when you’re scoring points and have them, now you’re talked about as an elite, complete player.
Jack Roslovic made it 3-2 early in the third period, and yeah, this one is very much on the Chaos Giraffe:
That confidence Tyler Myers has to try and go end to end in a game is also the confidence that courses through his veins when he’s holding onto the puck too long in his own zone. Off the glass and out is the safe play, but imagine if you could hold onto the puck and exit with possession! It feels a lot like Andy Dalton running with the ball and not realizing the immediate danger isn’t in front of him, it’s behind him, and oh boy is a fumble about to go down.
To the Canucks credit, though, they kept playing hard in the third period. We even had Max Sasson out here setting up PO Joseph of all people off of the rush:
We also had Evander Kane with the good takeaway in the neutral zone, which led to an offensive rush:
And then Kane once sets up a rush, this time after jumping on the ice and sending a bank pass down the ice to Brock Boeser, ending in a good look at the net from Reichel:
As I said, this was a fun game to watch.
What you saw from Garland on that shift is what’s called a Puck Pit-bull. And that why he works with Petey. #Canucks
— David Cee
If Faber’s DAWG rating was still around, I have no doubt that Corolla would have been at the top of the list:
The level of compete he has is enough to make you finally forgive the Canucks for their “Compete is in our nature” motto they used a couple seasons ago.
Imagine how annoying it must be to play against this guy. Three Oilers try and get the puck away from him, and they can’t do it.
With Marcus Pettersson serving a penalty for slashing, the Oilers finally tied the game up on this Draisaitl shot:
Things to note on this goal:
- Hronek dives in the general direction of Connor McDavid which I suppose is a good as play as any when facing off against the Oilers captain, even if it wouldn’t be my first choice.
- Tyler Myers trips and falls on this play, which didn’t help his narrative on the night
- A stick breaking shouldn’t be a huge factor in calling a penalty in the NHL as new sticks break so easily, but it is what it is at this point. It’s on par with “Did that guy’s lip get slightly cut?? That’s clearly a double minor for high sticking” for me.
- Marcus Pettersson being in the box took away their best penalty killing defenseman not named Derek Forbort.
At this point the game went to overtime, and any team that has McDavid and Draisaitl, that feels like an automatic win for them.
Except Kiefer wasn’t having NONE of that.
Garland, Boeser and Kiefer called game:
I said it earlier, and I will say it again: In overtime, if you’re throwing a puck on net from that spot, that’s giving up to me. It’s a low yield play that usually results in the puck going the other way and your team losing. Most games in overtime get finished by breakaways, odd man rushes, or tap ins.
But on this night, it was the right play. You just knew it. Throwing the puck towards the hot hand in Kiefer was the right call, and kudos to the coaching staff for putting Kiefer out there in extra time.
This is some Football to the Groin levels of awards here.
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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!
This week, the Canucks lost Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger to the Injured Reserve and Quinn Hughes to a day-to-day lower-body injury, but gained 23-year-old forward and former first-round draft pick Lukas Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2027 4th Round Pick. That’s some clean work right there – something you can’t always say for the team on the ice.
As we prepare for Halloween, the Canucks are taking this holiday a little too seriously and scaring me. They are not a bottom-of-the-barrel team, and not particularly good either; it is almost better to be noticeable in any way than to be mediocre. It is October, and I do not want to pre-define the identity of the team for the whole year, although the controversies of the week seem to be baffling player deployment and concerning centre depth, with injuries piling up. Who could have predicted this? Surely these are not the same concerns held by many over the summer!
The Canucks look about as good at defending a lead right now as a pair of Crocs is at being waterproof. Sure, it may be comfortable and familiar, but the holes are pretty visible. This week, I lost my Canucks Orca charm off my Crocs and later found it face down in a puddle in my driveway and put it back where it belonged. This feels like a fitting metaphor for three losses in a row, topped off with a statement win against Edmonton on Sunday night.
Despite these subsequent losses, there are still going to be stand-outs, comebacks, and players with individually good games. Let’s get into it.
Elias Pettersson
Ah, EP40, a player everyone can be normal about when discussing, a player who begs conversations which always stay completely civil and never verge on obsessive or vitriolic. I am sure we are all familiar.
Pettersson should be scoring more, but it is not for lack of trying nor a result of poor performance at large. His underlying numbers this week were great, including shot share, expected goals, and high-danger chances, as seen in Nashville and Montreal. His defensive game and shot blocking have been positive contributions, as usual. But he just wasn’t scoring – nor was he particularly given the ice time to achieve that, either.
Safe to say that was rectified this weekend. On Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens. Pettersson opened the scoring and proceeded to have a three-point game. He looked more confident in general, but also showed more confidence much earlier in the game. He was playing like himself, rather than trying to rewire his instincts like some social experiment. We had a proper throwback game from Pettersson that, unfortunately, the team completely lost control of. This is one loss no one can scapegoat Pettersson for, try as you might.
CANUCKS GOAL
Elias Pettersson scores his 2nd goal of the season and gets Vancouver on the board!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) October 25, 2025
Luckily, vintage Pettersson stuck around for the back-to-back on Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers. Pettersson had himself a one-timer on the power play that truly gave me flashbacks to two years ago – perhaps even further back. Yes, Kiefer Sherwood won the game in overtime and nearly had a hat trick, if not for an offside call, but still, you couldn’t beat the electricity and momentum that the whole team benefited from after Pettersson’s firecracker shot returned from the abyss.
EP40 ONE-TIMERS. PERFECTIONpic.twitter.com/dIqfwrMkcU
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 27, 2025
Who would’ve thought that the best game this week would be the one against a back-to-back Stanley Cup losing division rival, with Quinn Hughes out of the lineup? Not a single person on the planet. This team continues to defy all expectations, both in a good and a bad way.
Ultimately, I am pleased to nominate Elias Pettersson as Star of the Week, something I am sure we, as normal fans, will also be very enthusiastic about in the comments. Let us go forth and discuss a player whom we will surely all come to a unified and joyous unanimous decision about. What are sports made up of if not unified, joyous, unanimous opinions?
Conor Garland
Conor Garland is the driving force of the Canucks right now. He is Max Verstappen, and the team is the 2024 Red Bull car (Okay, this analogy may be an exaggeration. The point being Verstappen was good and the car was bad). Anyway, I think in analytics, the professional term for how Garland is playing is ‘stupid good.’
While the Canucks lines have been put through a blender like a green smoothie as of late, I have really been enjoying Garland playing alongside Elias Pettersson. It seems to be clicking for both of them – take a setup from Filip Hronek to Pettersson that Garland jumps on to net the opening goal against the Penguins just over a minute into play.
Conor Garland rips a shot past Arturs Silovs to open the scoring!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) October 21, 2025
This was also scored on former Canucks goalie and Calder Cup winner Artūrs Šilovs. Just don’t point out the five unanswered goals from Pittsburgh that came after this.
These three players would connect again for a Pettersson goal against Montreal, a game in which Garland later scored what could have been a comeback opportunity for Vancouver, marking 300 career points for him, as well as Pettersson’s power play goal against Edmonton. With another assist on Kiefer Sherwood’s overtime winner on Sunday, Garland proves that he’s earned his special teams deployment and first-line spot by simply being a dependable, all-situations player. Gone are the days of alleged trade requests from Garland’s camp – it’s great to see how far he has come as a core member of the team since then.
Thatcher Demko
Many of you rightfully pointed out that Thatcher Demko deserved a star of the week last week – for clarity’s sake, every week I try to even out the love and shoutout players who might quietly be performing well, or who bounce back from a slump. I try not to always highlight the same players every week, despite Vancouver’s core group being clear. Otherwise, I would likely run the risk of giving Kiefer Sherwood a star every week, even in games where he doesn’t appear on the scoresheet. That said, it’s not currently a given that the usual suspects for 3 Stars are acting as such.
Thatcher Demko is a consistent star of the week on the team right now, even if I don’t always say so. He might be the star right now, if we are being totally honest with ourselves. Demko is one of Vancouver’s best players again, which is refreshing after so much time without him, but it is so disappointing that many of his performances feel wasted.
Demko played two games this week, not counting his matinee showing against the Washington Capitals that I covered in last week’s edition of 3 Stars. Nashville is a tough team to lose a game to 2-1; middling in the standings, with suffering special teams. While Nashville should be much better than they are on paper, underestimation won’t get you very far. Demko made the saves he should have in this game, putting up a .943 SV%, but the team in front of him just couldn’t get it done in front of him in this low-scoring contest and were outshot 35-22.
Thatcher Demko makes a great save and keeps this a scoreless game.
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) October 24, 2025
Demko also put up a solid performance against the Oilers, and although an early 2-0 lead was once again squandered as Edmonton fought back to tie the game 3-3 and force overtime, Demko couldn’t be held strictly responsible. Let’s put a pin in this week of Canucks hockey with Demko denying Connor McDavid, shall we?
Thatcher Demko stops a dangerous Connor McDavid chance!
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) October 27, 2025
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If there is one thing we’ve learned in Vancouver, it’s that you can always expect Elias Pettersson and JT Miller to do the opposite of what you think is going to happen.
Teammates for life? Nah, nah, nah. Instead, let’s have generational locker-room fallout that rips the team apart and ruins an entire season of hockey.
Back and forth affair in JT Miller’s return to Rogers Arena, the next with both players going head-to-head? Nah, nah, nah. Instead, let’s have a low event, soul-crushing 2-0 victory in which 83-year-old Jonathan Quick gets a shutout, and you question if you even like hockey anymore.
I will give credit to JT Miller; he downplayed everything the morning of the game. His entire focus was on getting the two points for his struggling team, and then getting out of town, which he executed brilliantly. In fact, this was probably the perfect game for Miller, as there was next to no drama, Elias Pettersson didn’t do much of anything, and the Rangers got the win.
As for the Canucks, an injury to Conor Garland that took him out of the third period was a gentle reminder that the Hockey Gods hate your city and view you with nothing but scorn and derision.
But even with the injuries the Canucks are currently facing, it still felt like a game in which the team could have done more. Small silver linings included the NHL debut of Tom Willander, who impressed by not looking out of place, and the continued high-level play of Thatcher Demko. Silver linings and an apple will get you a piece of fruit, however, and that’s about it.
The underlying issues of Evander Kane giving beer-leaguers around the world confidence that their game could translate into an NHL career were once again on full display.
Jake DeBrusk was in the lineup, but I’m not certain I saw him at any point.
Drew O’Connor is being pushed by Lukas Reichel to see who can not score goals at the highest rate in the NHL.
Elias Pettersson, whose game has been trending upwards, stumbled yet again in the spotlight. I’m not saying he was bad Tuesday night, but there are only so many times you can talk about him “almost having an elite game” before you just start feeling bad for everyone involved.
And once again, the Canucks seemed to fall into a low shot, thoughts and prayers from the point, offensive game plan we saw for the majority of last year.
I am still firm on waiting 20 games before I dive too deep into drawing conclusions about this team, and injuries are certainly becoming the main storyline so far, but oh my goodness, this was one of the more dispiriting games of hockey I have seen in Vancouver this season. To quote our old friend Rick, they had no juice. I could almost hear Rick explaining to me that the players weren’t doing what he wanted as the time ticked off the clock on this one.
Instead of entertainment, we got to witness a “solid road win,” which in hockey parlance means “unwatchable game in which the road team sat back and tried to grind out a one goal game.”
I am just going to go ahead and say what we’re all thinking, though. This team needs some help. They need someone who can get them going, someone who can lift their spirits.
And that man is Nearly Neil.
Is it any surprise the team has struggled without Nearly Neil serenading the crowd? I think not.
Let’s, begrudgingly, dive into this game
Confirmed boos for JT when he had the puck#Canucks
— Dragon Was Slayed (@522IntoOvertime) October 29, 2025
Lukas Reichel was the most notable forward in this game in the offensive zone, even if it came at the cost of his play on the defensive side of the puck.
Still, in a game in which the team struggled to generate much of anything in terms of scoring chances, Reichel was a clear positive as he was the player who got the most looks on net. Complaining about his defence in this game would be like complaining that the violinist was greedy for doing a solo while the band kept playing when the Titanic was sinking.
The first good chance for Reichel came off of one of two notable plays from DeBrusk on the night, this time in the form of passing the puck while sitting on his bum:
Jonathan Quick, seen here in 2012 form, made the save whilst kicking out his pad and glove at the same time because why not. And I say that with respect because anytime a goalie does something that would make Ian Clark throw an iPad across the room, I smile, because I miss goalies making saves off of vibes instead of technique.
Upon seeing Reichel almost score, Drew O’Connor knew he had to up his game, so he was the next guy to almost score a goal after jumping on a point shot rebound from Aatu Räty, who was covering for a pinching Marcus Pettersson:
The edging contest between Reichel and Calendar is fast approaching must see TV, as they are truly finding new and unique ways to not score goals every single day.
There is a certain irony in the Canucks ice cream being called “Bar Down Blast” for a team that can’t score goals, but I assume “please dear God bring Quinn Hughes back” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easily. I also don’t know what flavour that would be. What does desperation taste like? Nutmeg? Paprika?
Actually, I don’t know even what Bar Down Blast should taste like. Cold metal mixed with rubber while someone holds a red light near you screaming loud noises?
Either way, the Rangers’ best chance early on was an Artemi Panarin shot after Defensive Enthusiasm Elias Pettersson was stripped of the puck behind the net by Mika Zibanejad:
As Thatcher Demko is not Stuart Skinner, he did not randomly leave his net to make sure he locked his car, so he made the save.
In the early moments of the first period, Elias Pettersson laid out what can only be described as an homage to Asuka, with his usage of a thundering butt check:
And in a game in which the fans’ emotions were very much “let’s post a hot picture of our current partner to make our ex jealous”, this hit was met with roaring cheer, followed by a “Let’s go Petey” chant.
Perhaps spurred on by this energy, Tyler Myers set up the next good Canucks chance by skating his way into the New York Rangers zone and throwing a chaos hand grenade in the general direction of Jonathan Quick, which Conor Garland almost converted into a goal:
Halfway through the first period, the Canucks looked like they might have momentum, but you know what kills momentum quicker than anything? Arshdeep Bains taking a random tripping penalty. Yay.
First off, don’t give the Canucks any ideas. With the way Kevin Lankinen has started this year, and with a management team holding onto their jobs like that backpack meme, riding Thatcher Demko into the ground is still very much on the table.
Realistically, though, Demko has been one of the main reasons the Canucks have been in the majority of the games this season. And what do they save again? You have to be lucky to be good, and good to be lucky?
JT Miller didn’t score on the night, so at least he didn’t get everything he wanted, as he pushed that puck wide. He should have scored on that play, but I will chalk it up to being intimidated by Demko’s slick-looking gear.
But even with the Rangers missing what looked like a sure goal, Demko made sure to remind them that scoring on him was no easy task when he later denied Taylor Raddysh on a loose puck in the crease:
All of which is to say is that Thatcher Demko continues to give you belief in his new contract when he keeps having nights like these.
Also, good news! Bains’ penalty didn’t cost them a goal.
But Evander Kane’s backchecking did cost them a goal:
I mean, I called it a JT Miller tribute at the time it happened, as that is one piss poor back check. I don’t know what’s worse: he tries to take a hooking penalty but fails at that, or the fact that he just refuses to skate back to try and make a play. He doesn’t take a single stride from the blue line onwards, and the end result is a Zibanejad goal.
His beer league-inspired play continued near the end of the period when he sent a pass that would have led to Brock Boeser being murdered if this were the Scott Stevens days:
Instead, it results in a turnover instead of a concussion, but the fact remains that for all the offensive skill Evander Kane possesses, it comes at a high price in every other part of his game.
MARCUS PETTERSSON FIGHT?
IN THIS ECONOMY!?
Well, at least someone will stick up for his teammates.#canucks
— kelsylwright (@kelsylwright) October 29, 2025
Conor Garland didn’t return for the third period, and there was no obvious moment where you could tell he was injured on a play. But your best guess for where the damage occurred was probably on the massive hit he absorbed from Sam Carrick in the second period:
He popped right back up, so we can’t say with certainty he was hurt on this play, but that was the most likely candidate.
And yes, Marcus Pettersson stood up for his boy immediately, if street justice for big legal checks is your thing.
I also hope Marcus shouted “You trying to download an MP3 off of LimeWire??” before landing a left-right combo, mostly for the dated reference, causing confusion on the ice.
As I said earlier, Elias was perfectly cromulent in this game. He probably should have had a point or two. He made some perfectly fine passes, one of which bordered on timely and gorgeous.
But I still feel like he takes forever to load up his shot on the power play:
We know his one-timer is quick, but sometimes when he gets the puck and runs the wristshot prompt in his brain, it just feels like he delays long enough to get his shooting lane blocked.
That being said, he did have a very gorgeous pass right afterwards:
In a perfect world, that pass to Garland is thrown over to Boeser for the tap-in, instead of, you know, the puck hitting Brock in the face.
This was very much one of those nights, yes.
man reichel is cursedhe's playing so well and he deserves a goal at this point just let him have one LMAO
— hjaura (@hjauraarchive) October 29, 2025
For my money, Reichel thoroughly outplayed Drew O’Connor in the “he could have scored there” game on the night.
The best of his chances was probably on this nice give-and-go with Evander Kane:
First off, good play from Kane. Again, the dude knows how to make good offensive plays; we know this.
Secondly, that’s a nice attempt from Reichel. He was clearly the flashiest player on the night for Vancouver, even if he failed to register a point.
If anything, it’s been nice to see his speed on display, his willingness to drive through the middle of the ice, and his ability to generate looks on net. Even if there is a long way to go from “that fast guy is fun” to “guy who generates points effectively in the NHL.”
With Evander Kane in the penalty box due to an offensive zone penalty, as is tradition, the Canucks managed to kill it off while also generating the better scoring chance:
Drew O’Connor causes the turnover for the Rangers, and Garland’s attempt to go full Corolla ends up with a loose puck that Tyler Myers shoots on net from an awkward angle.
Was it a grade A scoring chance? No. But on this night, it was one of the few highlights, and I need GIF money, so here we are.
We’ve reached the part of the night where I show you plays that almost resulted in a shot on net:
I do like that Filip Hronek holds the puck and waits for EP40 to get open before sending the pass in. Hronek doesn’t just dump the puck out and give up possession.
Sadly, Elias was at the end of the shift, so the best he could do there was at least make Quick think about what a shot on net might feel like. He’s planting that seed.
Remember when this season was predicated on “if everything goes right” and “surely it can’t be as bad as last year?”
Well, we’re how many injuries in, with a season that already looks like it’s teetering on the edge, and now we have Demko being run by his own guy:
The good news is that Demko was fine after the collision, but this season is clearly taking its pound of flesh from Vancouver early on.
I’m not saying the Hockey Gods hate Vancouver, but I am starting to believe demonic pacts were made by previous management to land Pavel Bure in the draft, and the city is still paying for it to this day.
Lukas Reichel’s next shot on net was off a pass from Kiefer Sherwood:
Things I liked on this play:
- Defensively Inclined Elias Pettersson not trying to force the puck around the boards through Jonny Brodzinski. He takes his time and pushes the puck back along the other way, and the end result is DOC kicking the puck out to Kiefer Sherwood, which sets this play in motion.
- Hey, Lukas Reichel getting shots on net is good stuff, have at it.
- That isn’t a very dangerous shot but again, what can we do at this point.
At one point, Tom Willander just sort of sat on Conor Sheary, which, hey, if it works, it works, but Brock Boeser and Lukas Reichel seem to just forget about the other side of the ice, so no one covers Urho Vaakanainen sneaking in from the point:
Luckily for Vancouver, he hit the crossbar, which I guess is a highlight? I don’t know how this works at this point.
I have some good news, Conor Garland got the Canucks’ 11th shot of the game at the end of the second period:
Unfortunately that is a “shot” much in the way that I have a chance to have dinner at The Keg with Kate Beckinsale while we discuss the finer points of Diablo 4 character builds.
That was also the last shift of the game for Garland, who would not return after this.
How could you Jeff.
Alas, it is merely the broken stick of Evander Kane, which is notably the first time Kane’s stick didn’t try to take an offensive zone penalty.
It was also one of the few rushes from the Canucks in the game that resulted in a moment where it felt like an actual goal might occur:
Smart pass from Elias, who feathers the pass down to Jake, who mishandles the puck at the last second and ends up with a weak shot on net.
There were probably two or three times when Elias Pettersson could have been involved in a goal, which, hey, that’s fine, that’s good, it’s better than zero.
But I can only hand out gold stars for hypothetical points so many times before I just sit down and try to get some sleep.
After a good pinch from Marcus Pettersson (this might be his elite talent, to be honest, he doesn’t get enough credit for his decision making on when to go for the puck), Kiefer Sherwood found Lukas Reichel yet again for another shot attempt from the slot:
I honestly have no other ways to describe “he almost scored again” at this point so I’ll let the gif do the work.
Tyler Myers went from loading up a clap bomb, to dangling around the offensive zone, to turning the puck over into a two-on-one rush against, AKA a normal shift for CG57:
It was very clearly a low event game, as these gifs selections are showing you.
They didn’t score, but they did get a shot on net:
There is no danger here. No threat of scoring. It’s purely a shot based on “I sure hope this takes a random bounce into the net!” and/or “Maybe Quick will pass out and this will go in!”
The Canucks’ best chance to score was when Jake DeBrusk passed the puck five hole over to Elias Pettersson:
I don’t THINK Jake is going “Oh yeah, time to pass this through Quick’s pads for the tap-in” mostly because he isn’t Henrik Sedin. I think he’s just trying to get the puck across in the general area to Elias.
Because if that was Henrik, it would mean he was 100% passing to Daniel, who would 100% be ready for the tap-in. The Sedins see that play and very clearly share twin thoughts and coordinate the pass through the five hole, which Danny promptly taps in.
But regular, normal players don’t usually think “I bet this puck is going to go right through the goalies legs over to me,” so while I won’t criticize Elias for not tapping that puck in, I will sigh out loud about how this game couldn’t let us enjoy a single thing on the night.
You can almost see EP40 think “wtf” as that puck somehow scoots right on by him.
Don’t worry, the Canucks heard you! They shot the puck MULTIPLE times from the point into traffic:
This is kind of a don’t hate the player, hate the game type of scenario, in which point shots into traffic were probably the Canucks’ best option at this point. New York was defending the centre of the ice as if JT Miller not yelling at them depended upon it, so there weren’t a ton of ways to move that puck into dangerous areas with time and space.
But it’s also just sort of deflating knowing you watched an entire game of hockey, and the best chances a team got were throwing a puck on net four times at the end of the game.
Thoughts and prayers, hockey offence just doesn’t float my boat like it used to.
That game was a summary of the #Canucks season, along with their weaknesses in a nutshell.
— Mcsuper(@Macusian12345) October 29, 2025
So why not end the game on another point shot, shall we?
And that was the ball game. A tedious result for a tedious game. Onto the next one.
I wish I had more to say about this game, but it was truly a low event, low excitement affair. Half the third period was highlighted by puck battles along the board resulting in zone exits. Not the most thrilling stuff.
Fun fact: He is still playing in the KHL to this day, and he is playing with former Canuck Nikolay Goldobin.
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Alright, this is admittedly getting a bit ridiculous.
The Vancouver Canucks played their 11th game of the 2025-26 regular season on Tuesday against the New York Rangers, and at the same time, appeared to suffer their ninth injury to a full-time roster player as Conor Garland left the game and did not return. Garland will reportedly not be on the Canucks’ upcoming three game road trip.
The toll is enormous at this point.
Nils Höglander, injured in the preseason, has missed all 11 games. Derek Forbort and Teddy Blueger have missed nine each, with Blueger’s absence appearing to be split between two distinct injuries. Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Filip Chytil have missed the last five, with Chytil’s injury appearing to be the most serious of the bunch. P-O Joseph missed three to start.
Captain Quinn Hughes has missed the two most recent games, and his call-up replacement, Victor Mancini, got injured in his first game back. Now, on top of all that and as if that wasn’t plenty, the Canucks may be down their leading scorer in Garland.
Nine injuries, and that’s not even counting Brock Boeser’s two-game personal leave, or the season-opening injuries to likely call-ups Guillaume Brisebois and Jett Woo.
All of this has naturally led to some lamenting in Canuckland, and it would be a little surprising if it didn’t. This is, by any measure, a run of bad injury luck. But it’s not exactly unprecedented by this franchise’s own standard, or even by the standard of the 2025-26 season.
Believe it or not, as bad as the Canucks have had it this year, they have not had it the worst.
If we’re talking just ‘games lost to injury,’ specifically by players expected to be on the roster, the Canucks are up to 45. That’s an average of more than four per game, and it’s undoubtedly a lot.
A couple of other teams have more ‘games lost,’ however. According to NHLInjuryViz, which has taken on tracking these numbers, it’s the Canucks’ expansion cousins, the Buffalo Sabres, who are the true injury leaders of the early going.
So far, the Sabres have missed time from all of Josh Norris, Zach Benson, Owen Power, Michael Kesselring, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Jordan Greenway, Justin Danforth, Tyson Kozak, Mattias Samuelsson, Jacob Bryson, and Colten Ellis. Those aren’t all household names, but they were all more-or-less expected to be Sabres at this point in time. That’s 11 total injuries, with the quartet of Kesselring, Norris, Greenway, and Luukkonen each missing the majority of the season thus far.
The Carolina Hurricanes, currently missing Pyotr Kochetkov, Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller, and Shayne Gostisbehere for a good chunk of the year, are also worthy of mention here.
The two-time defending Cup champion Florida Panthers, meanwhile, almost equal the Canucks’ games-lost with just a handful of players. Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Tomas Nosek have missed the entire season of 11 games thus far, and Dmitry Kulikov has missed all but two. That’s 42 games between just four players, and when we’re talking about Barkov and Tkachuk, we’re talking two extremely important players.
That’s probably why the folks at NHLInjuryViz don’t just track raw games lost, but also attempts to measure the impact of those losses. They’ve got a number of ways of doing that, including measuring by Lost WAR (Wins Above Regulation) via injury, as well as the lost Cap Hit of Injured Players (CHIP) and the Cumulative Minutes of Injured Players (CMIP). These measures are based on the most recent statistics available.
It is those same Panthers who ‘lead’ the league in most of these regards. The loss of Barkov and Tkachuk alone ensure that the Panthers have the highest LWAR by far, quite literally dwarfing all other teams on the chart. The Canucks, for their part, rank about 10th overall in LWAR, behind teams like the Panthers, Sabres, Golden Knights, Avalanche, Devils, Jets, Mammoth, Oilers, Hurricanes, and Kings.
The Canucks fall even farther down the charts when we get to CHIP, where they rank 13th overall. This can be attributed to the relatively low cap hits of the players injured in Vancouver thus far – not counting the most recent injuries to Hughes and Garland, of course. Prior to them, the most-salaried player to be injured was Chytil at $4.4 million, which doesn’t hold a candle to $10 million men like Barkov.
It’s once we get to the CMIP, or the measure of minutes lost, that we really start to see the impact on the Canucks. Here, they rank ninth so far, but we’ll note that they should be really climbing up that chart for every game that Hughes and Garland miss from here on out. Again, they’re not going to touch the impact of Florida missing their stars for the entire start of the season, or the cumulative loss of all those Sabres, for quite some time yet. But they should start to surpass most of the other teams if they continue to miss a good 26 minutes of ice-time per night from Hughes.
In fact, if there’s one distinction we can draw here, it’s that eight of the Canucks’ nine injuries are currently ongoing. While other teams are presumably getting healthier, and the Canucks are not, and that’s going to continue to progress them up any injury-impact-measuring chart.
For the time being, however, all this goes to show that, while the Canucks have it bad right now, and it only seems to be getting worse, this is the sort of thing that is happening to at least a few NHL teams at basically any given point in any given NHL regular season. This is a tough sport, and injuries are relatively commonplace, and sometimes they will inevitably pile up.
The Canucks, for their part, still have at least ten eligible call-ups available from Abbotsford. They can continue to weather this storm, and if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they’re going to have to find a way to do more than weather it.
The Canucks have it hard with injuries right now, and there can be no doubt about that. But not so hard as to create an unprecedented or unparalleled situation, even by the standards of just this singular 2025-26 season. And that should mean that it’s not an impossible situation, either.
Just a really, really difficult one.
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A goalie can only do so much, right?
The Abbotsford Canucks hosted the Calgary Wranglers for the back half of a two-game set, and like it has for much of the season, scoring – or lack thereof – proved to be a significant factor.
Despite carrying play for the better half of the game, the Canucks could not find a solution to Ivan Prosvetov. Following a 33-save shutout on Tuesday, their go-to netminder got the nod for a second night in a row and stopped 25 of 26 shots faced for a 2-1 shootout victory.
At the other end, Jiri Patera was just as, if not more, capable between the pipes. Making several incredibly athletic saves, he stopped 29 of 30 shots to keep his Canucks within striking distance the entire game.
It just wasn’t enough.
Despite taking the Wranglers to a shootout, the Canucks dropped their sixth straight game as a result of what continues to be a significant scoring drought, having scored just 13 goals over the course of the entire eight-game season.
It’s tough sledding down on the farm, and this game proved much of the same.
Starting lineup
The Canucks swapped the lineup once again, bringing in four new forwards into the mix. Danila Klimovich, Jackson Kunz and Josh Bloom, who were all healthy scratches on Tuesday, figured into the mix. Meanwhile, Ben Berard, Vilmer Alriksson, and Chase Stillman drew out. Nils Aman, back from Vancouver, slid in as the team’s top-line centre.
In the net, Jiri Patera got the nod with Ty Young sitting on the bench.
Labate – Aman – Kravtsov
Durandeau – Mueller – Klimovich
Bloom – Khaira – Kambeitz
Ravinskis – Wouters – Kunz
Schuldt – Mynio
Knyzhov – Lee
Arntsen – Daschke
Patera
Scratched: Vilmer Alriksson, Chase Stillman (potentially injured), Robby Drazner, Ben Berard
Injured: Jett Woo, Guillaume Brisebois, Nikita Tolopilo, Cooper Walker
Game #8
The first minutes brought several minutes of neutral back-and-forth, with no real chances either way.
The home team did collect the game’s best early chance, with Nikolai Knyzhov collecting the pass all alone in the high slot off some nice movement. Building off the strong effort from Tuesday, Ivan Prosvetov played the angle perfectly to steer the puck aside to kick off what would be another stellar evening at the Abbotsford Centre.
Just seconds later, Knyzhov flipped the script to take the first penalty of the game, getting caught with his two hands up high for an easy cross-checking/high-stick call.
Like they had done often on Tuesday, the Canucks killed it with ease, conceding just one shot.
The Canucks may be in the midst of a five-game losing streak, but their penalty kill has been both a positive and a negative.
Negative, as they continue to take too many penalties. Positive, as they continue to kill the majority of them off, running around 85% for the year.
The next few moments did not bring much entertainment, as the Wranglers failed to test Jiri Patera with any noteworthy chances.
Just before the midway point of the period, the Canucks were sent to their first power play of the game.
And the young Sawyer Mynio showed off what he’s got.
Abbotsford goal – 1-0 – Sawyer Mynio from Nils Aman and Vitali Kravtsov
It didn’t take long, but Mynio and Nils Aman played give and go before Mynio unleashed his patented one-timer past Prosvetov.
It took him five games to showcase his nasty shot, and now, he’s working on two blasted goals over his last three games. He’s been tasked with some heavy lifting over the last few games. He has shouldered that weight with the poise of a pro and continues to be one of the better stories on the farm.
At this point, Patera saw little action. But as the clock hit the five-minute mark, he was forced to show off his quick reflexes after a shot attempt took a ricochet off one of his defender’s sticks.
At least he found a way to stay sharp and awake.
Moments later, he was forced to suck in a tremendous opportunity, all courtesy of his own defender.
After breaking up a play with his stick, Knyzhov made the dangerous attempt to stickhandle through the pressing offence. It went horribly wrong. Instead, he set up a Wrangler for a perfect chance for the one-timer.
Again, Patera was sharp and awake.
Shots: ABB 7, CGY 7
Score: ABB 1, CGY 0
Patera continued to show off his quick acting reflexes early in the second frame. This time, sliding over to stone Dryden Hunt with the Dominic Hasek-esque stop.
One thing you may notice throughout these game highlights is the defensive giveaways. They were often and plentiful in this game.
Going the other way, the Canucks nearly doubled their lead.
With a strong burst up the ice from Chase Wouters, he dropped the puck back to Anri Ravinskis, who nearly potted his first in the American League – he just couldn’t beat the post.
Believe it or not, that earlier Patera save represented the only shot faced in the first half of the period. Unlike the opening period, the Wranglers carried play, despite seeing no shots toward the net.
Credit to the Abbotsford defence, which kept them to the perimeter the entire half despite being hemmed in for most of the frame.
That pressure continued in the back half. Only this time, they pressed hard with chances on the netminder.
Incredibly, it took 16 minutes for the Canucks to get their first shot of the period. They were thankful to somehow hold on to the lead despite being heavily outplayed and outshot.
And it wasn’t without one last highlight reel save, as Patera slid over on the cross crease play, robbing Sam Morton with the glove.
Abbotsford had some serious thanks to give in the dressing room, as they left their netminder to hang with a 9-2 shot differential through 20 minutes in the second.
But Patera is on a tour to remind Canucks fans that he is still here, and he’s ready to be in the conversation for promotion should the need arise.
Shots: ABB 9, CGY 16
Score: ABB 1, CGY 0
We can only imagine what Manny Malhotra had to say to his team between periods.
But it had to be something along the lines of “just get some shots.”
If that’s the case, the team listened and picked up their best chance since the opening frame, thanks to a terrific heads-up cross-ice pass through the parted seas from Aman to Vitali Kravtsov.
It may not have gone in, but a chance is a chance. At this point, they’d take whatever they could get.
And they continued to press.
But then, just as the ice appeared to tilt, the Wranglers finally solved Patera.
Danila Klimovich, who has been battling healthy scratches over the last few games, elected for the lazy drop pass directly to the enemy.
Rule #1 of the “things you don’t do” handbook.
Calgary goal – 1-1 – Daniil Miromanov from David Silye and Matvei Gridin
Grabbing the gift was David Silye, who found an open Daniil Miromanov, who went top corner on Patera to even the score in the third.
Manny Malhotra likely had some words for the struggling forward on his way to the bench, and we did not see him for much of the third period.
The Canucks pushed forward and nearly regained their lead off the stick of Jimmy Schuldt.
Following a strong drive by Dino Kambeitz, the puck popped right out to the top of the circles, where Schuldt found himself all alone with a sprawled-out netminder. But missed the wide-open net and his chance at his first goal as a member of the Canucks.
Goaltenders have been the team’s strong suit in the season so far, and Parera continued to show us why. Off another cross-ice play, the netminder slid over for yet another high-grade save to keep the score even at one.
The Wranglers have proven to be incredible shot-blocking machines, getting in the way of various Canucks shots as the period ticked away to its end.
For the second time this season, the Canucks would head to overtime. But it wasn’t without one last bit of heroics from Patera.
With just one second remaining on the clock, he slid over to throw out his blocker for the save of the game.
By night’s end, he put up an incredible highlight package.
Now, to grab a win.
Final shots: ABB 23, CGY 25
Final score: ABB 1, CGY 1
The Canucks enjoyed a pair of odd-man rushes in the extra frame, but could not connect for the game-winner – or even a shot.
Meanwhile, Patera continued his tricks to make five saves in the overtime stretch.
But this one needed a shootout.
Round one: Abbotsford: X | Calgary: X
Round two: Abbotsford: X | Calgary: X
Round three: Abbotsford: X | Calgary: Goal (Matvei Gridin)
Final shots: ABB 26, CGY 30
Final score: ABB 1, CGY 2 (SO)
Final thoughts
The game proved to be a bit of a Canuck sandwich, with the home team holding play for the first and third, only to be severely outplayed in the second.
However, an Abbotsford Canucks game is once again covered by terrific goaltending, with Jiri Patera making several ten-bell saves.
Although the shot totals were there, the Canucks once again struggled to find the back of the net and have now scored just 13 goals across eight games. That total sits 29th in the league.
CanucksArmy three stars
Jimmy Schuldt – It’s probably time to hand out some flowers to Jimmy Schuldt, who continues to ride shotgun alongside young defenders. Since the start of the year, he has enjoyed minutes alongside Kirill Kudryavtsev, Tom Willander, Victor Mancini and now Sawyer Mynio. So, in other words, he’s the go-to guy for Manny Malhotra to take their young defenders under his wing.
Sawyer Mynio – For a second straight night, Sawyer Mynio receives a star. He continues to look right at home while playing heavy minutes as the primary option in all situations. Tonight, he added a goal to his performance and was deemed the third star of the game in the building.
Jiri Patera – Deemed the second star in tonight’s game, this game belonged to Jiri Patera. He made 29 saves, which included several incredible post-to-post efforts to rob the Wranglers of any potential goals. Once again, the Canucks simply could not generate enough offence to deliver the win their netminder deserves.
What’s next?
The Canucks’ hectic homestand continues, as they get set to host the Henderson Silver Knights for a weekend set. Game one is set for Saturday at 7:00 pm PT at the Abbotsford Centre.
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Let me tell you a scary Halloween story. Get your favourite candy out as I light a campfire and turn on my flashlight.
It’s about a demon that the hockey gods send to torture NHL teams, taking different players’ legs. Their arms. Even their souls!!
They call it… the Injury Bug. And the Vancouver Canucks have endured its wretched curse all October.
There was only one man impervious to its powers. A man so powerful, he could will an entire hockey team to a victory they probably had no business getting. His name was Kiefer Sherwood, but that part’s just a legend… or is it?
The way this game in St. Louis was progressing, it sure looked like the Canucks were about to be on the wrong end of another steamrolling at the hands of the Blues, their second in as many weeks. They lost Brock Boeser right out of the gate and gave up a goal four minutes in — the usual Canucks experience we all know and tolerate. Then the new NHL goals leader put the entire Vancouver roster on his shoulders and carried them to an eventual shootout victory by scoring all three Vancouver goals.
Even some recent underperformers made their presences known. Drew O’Connor picked up a pair of assists on the night. Even Evander Kane almost scored! And Kevin Lankinen, who started by allowing a pair of goals a polite person would call ‘suspect’, ended up a bona fide hero with a 36-save night and shutting down all three Blues shootout attempts (it was more like two, but don’t worry about it).
This game had to be seen to be believed. And that’s what we’re here for, because some spooky stories have a happy(ish) ending.
This game could not have started any worse for the Canucks and everybody watching.
The starting lineups had barely started flashing across the screen when Brock Boeser took a D-Petey clapper right to the Boesers and crumpled to the floor.
It’s been an extremely hard go for Boeser of late, and his night ended just 33 seconds in. Adam Foote said postgame that Boeser should be back for Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, but past us didn’t know that.
For all we knew, they were wheeling in another bed at Sami Salo General.
Raty down the tunnelsuffering #Canucks
— Optimistic Canuck (@optimisticcanuck.bsky.social) 2025-10-31T00:45:27.850Z
Boeser wasn’t even the only Canuck who couldn’t avoid danger today. The others were just fortunate enough to keep going.
The Canucks’ first power play of the night was due to Logan Mailloux high-sticking Drew O’Connor under the visor near the eye. O’Connor thankfully wasn’t cut, but it looked bad in the moment.
Fast-forwarding to the end of the first period, when Aatu Räty blocked a Blues one-timer and came up wincing.
He left for the locker room early, but came back for the second period, letting everyone breathe a small sigh of relief.
It didn’t take long for bad times to get worse.
The Blues’ third line of Pew Pew Suter, Oskar Sundqvist and Dylan Holloway went to work, hemming in the remnants of the EP40 line in the corner. Holloway was able to find some open space right as Sundqvist won the puck battle and fed him the pass. D-Petey left Holloway a little too much shooting room and screened Lankinen long enough for the puck to go right through the wickets.
Even with the screen in front, this goal was definitely not the way Lankinen wanted to start his night. And there’s few people under more pressure to find their A-game again. Wonder if he will!
Imagine the Canucks without*checks notes*Kiefer Sherwood
— Patrick Johnston
Kiefer Sherwood didn’t ask to become a superhero. He just puts on his cape and flies to wherever he needs to be to save the day.
This goal is largely the work of Evander Kane, which is a positive change of pace. Kane barrels into the Blues’ end after the puck and jams it on goal when Jordan Binnington was expecting a wraparound. As the puck bounces out in front of the net, Sherwood is there to whack it in before nearly sucker punching Alexey Toropchenko in celebration.
It’s a good thing he didn’t, because Sherwood’s more powerful than a locomotive. And that penalty would’ve been annoying to deal with.
Sherwood’s amazing night to come might not have played out that way if Logan Mailloux had gotten his way.
Mailloux tried to take Sherwood out of the game early with one of the most reckless trips I’ve ever seen, sticking his skate blade directly out towards Sherwood’s leg to make contact during a dump-in.
If you knew anything about Mailloux coming into this game, you’d know that the well being and safety of others isn’t exactly something he considers important. This is par for the course.
Jimmy Snuggerud is more than just an incredibly fun name to say. He’s also turning into something of a Canucks killer. When he shows up to Halloween parties, he’s dressed as Milan Hejduk.
Just before a Marcus Pettersson penalty from the first period comes to an end, Snuggerud is sprung by Cam Fowler on a break in the second. Despite shooting from a bad angle and distance, it’s still enough for Snuggerud to pick the far corner beat Lankinen’s blocker cleanly. 2-1 Blues.
Lankinen seemed to take this goal extremely personally, because from this point on the switch flipped.
Sherwood a one man team. Tie game #canucks
— Jake Debrusk- Pokemon Master
It’s not often we get to see the reverse Milan Hejduk show up in a Canucks uniform. But like Snuggerud has been a problem for Vancouver, Sherwood is doing the exact same thing to the Blues. Four Vancouver goals in two meetings to this point, all of them his.
This one was largely the result of St. Louis’ defensive strategy, which can only be described as “if you’re here, who’s flying the plane?!” None of the five Blues on the ice realizes Sherwood is wide open in the neutral zone until Drew O’Connor has already made the lead pass.
Sherwood fakes the initial shot, Binnington bites, then Sherwood tucks the puck in on his backhand like he’s Connor freakin’ McDavid.
Heck, at this point, Connor McDavid wishes he was Kiefer Sherwood.
Max Sasson got off to a hot start after being called up to the Canucks, but he’s cooled off a little of late. So when he blocked Tyler Tucker’s shot from the blue line and took off on a breakaway, it looked like he was about to be rewarded for his efforts and give his team a surprising lead.
Then his stick snapped in half on the shot, like a cheap fake sword you bought from Spirit Halloween.
Yes, his stick likely broke when he blocked the initial Tucker shot, but it still wasn’t a banner moment for the CCM JetSpeed FT8. (#notsponsored)
It’s always easy to blame the goalie when things aren’t going right for your team. And Lankinen has definitely earned some of the fault for the results this year. This tripping penalty didn’t endear him to anybody, especially Brayden Schenn.
HOWEVER. In my admittedly slightly biased opinion, this is an unfair penalty. You can literally see Schenn cutting through the blue paint — Lankinen’s space he’s entitled to — and taking the goalie stick with him. Schenn just lifts his right leg to make it look like he’s not getting in the way. If your leg is hovering over someone else’s doorstep, you’re still on their property.
Either way, Lankinen came up huge the rest of the way. Some of his biggest stops of the night came in the final 30 minutes, starting with this odd-man rush that Pius Suter decided not to pass on.
But his biggest stop of the night came early in the third period, when he robbed Nathan Walker point-blank with a sliding save. The Blues were swarming the Canucks at this point, and if not for saves like these when it mattered, the game would’ve been over a lot earlier.
The Blues thought they were leaving this game with a lot of treats. Lanks gave them nothing but tricks when it mattered.
Two games ago, a certain Canuck scored two goals against the Edmonton Oilers, including the OT winner. Wyatt dubbed it the Kiefer Sherwood game.
It turns out that was just the preview. THIS was the full movie.
Drew O’Connor plays the role of the facilitator again, in a quietly great game for him. Run-DOC enters the zone off the rush and makes a crisp drop pass to Aatu Räty, who gets stick checked at the right faceoff dot by Pavel Buchnevich.
With Buch and Cam Fowler covering Binnington’s sight of the now bouncing puck, Sherwood steps in behind them all and fires a shot that rings off the corner of the crossbar and into the net. Sherwood has himself a hat trick, the Canucks have their first lead of the night, and legend has it, Binnington is still searching for that puck behind him.
With all the garbage the Canucks have dealt with already in this young season, this moment felt amazing. If I had told you before the season started that Kiefer Sherwood would be tied for the NHL lead in goals at the end of October, would you have believed it? Of course you would have, because Sherwood IS the Vancouver Canucks.
And, equally importantly, now I have something to hold over Wyatt as the only Stanchies writer with a Sherwood goals-per-game average above 1.00.
Only four Canucks have reached 50 or more goals in a season. Those players are Pavel Bure, Pavel Bure, Alex Mogilny, and Pavel Bure.
If Kiefer changes his last name to Sherwoodov, the fifth player might be a lock.
Suter scores on the PP. Canucks PK misses, uh, Suter.
— Jason Brough(@SadClubCommish) October 31, 2025
Look. It was only a matter of time. You knew it, I knew it, the Canucks knew it. Pius Suter was always going to score a goal against the Canucks this season.
He didn’t wait long to pop the balloons from Sherwood’s hat trick goal. Reaching the dying moments of another Marcus Pettersson penalty (not a great night for him), the Blues took advantage of the Canucks’ inability to clear the zone and crashed the net as Fowler took a shot from distance. Lankinen is able to fight off the traffic on the initial shot, but the rebound bounces perfectly to Suter, who’s able to get inside positioning on P-O Joseph to knock the puck in.
For him to show up clutch for the Blues, right at a point when the Canucks could really use a Pius Suter type player, was just rubbing salt in the wound.
how many times do u think a goal has been called for goaltender interference meanwhile the goalie afterward is like “phew, i was never gonna have that either way”
— tiana(@nuckaround) October 31, 2025
The Canucks very nearly won in regulation, until controversy popped up. And what player is as familiar with controversy as Evander Kane?
Vancouver’s go-to strategy for shots from the blue line has continuously been to shoot towards a player near the hashmarks and get a deflection in front. And that’s exactly how P-O Joseph’s shot got deflected by Kane initially before he gets his own rebound past Binnington for his supposed first goal as a Canuck.
But the Blues saw something to challenge; namely, goalie interference caused by former Blue MacKenzie MacEachern bumping into Binnington and Justin Faulk at the same time.
Now, as funny as it is that this happened to Kane of all players, I do think this goal should’ve stood. For one, Kane’s shot comes long after the initial contact and, maybe more crucially, Binnington doesn’t react to MacEachern. No complaints to the refs, no look of anger — he’s just resigned to the fact that the score’s 4-3.
But don’t worry, I’m sure Kane has already called in a favour from his most recent dinner guest to get this goal overturned after the fact.
Anyways, off to extra time we go!!
Overtime solved nothing, but the fact that they got there at all was a minor miracle. And just to prove the tides were turning, Lankinen shut the door on his former teammate Pew Pew.
Time for a shootout.
The shootout had two heroes for the Canucks. Three, if you count Brayden Schenn doing them a solid.
First and foremost, there’s Lanks, who stopped Jordan Kyrou and Snuggerud, before getting to witness Schenn completely lose the handle on the final attempt shot.
Players and fans call that ‘bad luck’. Us goalies call it ‘aura farming’.
The second hero was Jake DeBrusk. It had been a quiet evening for Jake n’ Bake, but he rose to the occasion at the perfect time.
This is a gorgeous little shootout move, where DeBrusk pump fakes at the hashmarks to get Binnington to drop early, opening up all the room on the blocker side DeBrusk needs to casually lift the puck over the tendy’s arm.
And just like that, the curse of the backup Stanchies writer is over. Exhale, British Columbia.
Honestly would make for a terrifying costume. My pitch is dressing as the post that Nathan Lafayette hit.
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Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!
The first month of the season is just about in the books, and the Vancouver Canucks sit fifth in the Pacific Division with a 6-6 record. Amidst their injury problems, pending unrestricted free agent Kiefer Sherwood has carried the team over their previous three games, scoring five of the team’s seven goals over that span.
Canucks fans are speculating what a Sherwood extension may look like. However, three teams around the National Hockey League recently got their big pending free agents locked up over the past few days.
Martin Necas extends with Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have extended forward Martin Necas to an eight-year, $92 million contract, carrying an $11.5 million average annual value.
MORE MARTY PARTIES IN COLORADOpic.twitter.com/MmnzVEAgp5
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 30, 2025
Necas, 26, was the big piece coming back in the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes less than a year ago. The Avalanche also acquired centreman Jack Drury and a pair of draft picks in the deal.
In 30 regular season games in Colorado last season, Necas scored 11 goals and 28 points. And he’s off to a hot start to his first full season with the Avalanche, scoring seven goals and 13 points through 11 games. His efforts have him tied for 22nd in league scoring with Mark Stone, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle, Jesper Bratt and Cole Caufield.
The 6’3″ winger comes in slightly under Canucks centreman Elias Pettersson’s $11.6 million average annual value contract. Before the Rantanen trade, the Canucks were in talks with the Hurricanes about a potential Elias Pettersson-for-Necas swap. Now, both players are making very similar money on an annual basis.
Colorado avoids going down the same path as last season with Rantanen and locks up their guy on a cheaper deal than the Finnish winger got with the Dallas Stars.
Mammoth lock up Logan Cooley
The Utah Mammoth locked up their No. 1 centre, Logan Cooley, to an eight-year, $80 million contract, holding a $10 million average annual value.
Utah, Logan Cooley is here to stay!pic.twitter.com/3U1zuzjmnA
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 29, 2025
Cooley is coming off a 25-goal, 60-point sophomore year in Utah’s inaugural season. The 21-year-old centreman is scoring at will this season, potting eight goals and 12 points through 11 games this season – including a four-game stretch in which he scored six goals.
The Mammoth drafted Cooley third overall in the 2022 NHL draft. Among his peers, Cooley leads his draft class in goals (53) and points (121). He’s outproduced first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky by just four points, despite playing 43 fewer games.
Utah now has its top young duo in Cooley and Dylan Guenther, who was selected with the Canucks’ ninth-overall pick in the Conor Garland, Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade, locked up for $142,000 more than the mega extension Kirill Kaprizov signed earlier this past offseason.
Thomas Harley gets paid
The Dallas Stars locked up a big piece on their back end, extending defenceman Thomas Harley to an eight-year, $84.7 million contract, with a $10.59 million average annual value.
Harley’s here for the long haul️ pic.twitter.com/7WfNxfS9ef
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 29, 2025
Harley was selected 18th overall in the 2019 NHL draft. He made his debut in the 2021-22 season, before really bursting onto the scene in 2023-24, when he scored 15 goals and 47 points in 79 games, while logging 21:01 minutes of average ice time. Harley followed that up with a 16-goal, 50-point season, where he finished with a plus-32 rating.
This extension has the 24-year-old as the fourth-highest defenceman in the league, behind only Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin and Drew Doughty. Harley will make $2.137 million more annually than fellow defenceman Miro Heiskanen for the three seasons before he is due a raise off his $8.45 million contract.
Next on the docket for the Stars is locking up forward Jason Robertson. He is in the final year of his four-year $31 million, which pays him $7.75 million annually. Robertson was involved in trade rumours after the Stars’ Western Conference loss to the Edmonton Oilers, as the Stars faced cap problems. However, after his strong start to the season – three goals and nine points in 11 games, third in the NHL in shots on goal (47) – and the rising cap, there is a more straightforward path to a reunion between the two sides than what was believed last June.
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One of the Vancouver Canucks‘ top prospects, Tom Willander, made his NHL debut earlier this week against the New York Rangers.
The 20-year-old defenceman signed his entry-level contract with the Canucks in early May, but did not join the Abbotsford Canucks in their run to the Calder Cup. Training camp was the first time we saw Willander skate in a Canucks uniform. While his skating stood out as a strong suit of his game, it was clear he needed some time to acclimate to the professional game. That’s not a knock; most defencemen coming out of the NCAA do need that developmental time.
However, with the numerous injuries in Vancouver, the Canucks summoned Willander after four games at the AHL level. He was sent down and recalled after Victor Mancini’s injury, and made saw game action against the Rangers.
Willander was paired with PO Joseph and played 12:37 minutes in his debut. He saw some power play and penalty kill time, registering two shots on goal on four shot attempts. But there were certainly some rookie moments in his game.
There were instances where we caught him pinching high in the defensive zone, which allowed a Ranger all alone in front of the net.
Another example of when he pinched in the zone, which turned into a 2-on-1 headed the other way for the Rangers.
But again, this was not even 30 minutes into his first NHL game. These small mistakes are going to happen, especially for a defenceman who had five games of professional experience in North America. Of course Willander played in North America in the NCAA, but the professional ranks is different than that of Sweden.
Fellow Swede Elias Pettersson went through the same challenge last year. He spoke post-game about some of the challenges for a young defenceman to learn when breaking into the NHL:
“Going back for pucks,” Pettersson told CanucksArmy. “In Sweden, you always try to look for a play. Here, it’s much more direct, hard plays. We can’t have the puck on our stick as much.”
Forecheckers in the NHL are relentless and aggressive. On this play, Willander doesn’t get the best first step and, at first, casually goes back for the puck. However, once he realizes there’s a speedy Ranger coming in to pressure him, he now has to race for it.
He does win the race, but has no time to do anything other than shovel the puck behind the net. The Rangers end up holding the zone and dump it back behind the net.
With 39 NHL games under his belt, Pettersson has learned a bit more about puck retrievals – and you could tell. As he’s going to collect the puck, Pettersson shoulder checks and sees Jonny Brodzinski coming in to pressure him. Being aware of his surroundings, Pettersson shields the puck with his body and turns away from Brodzinski, which then buys him an extra second in order to fire the puck off the glass and the Canucks get the zone exit.
That’s what Willander will learn as he gets more games under his belt. Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote spoke post-game about the challenges for a young defenceman and mention that it’s really just experience that will help iron out those details:
“You just need games. You look at these teams that win in the playoffs, their D – you need 200 games, 250, 300. I mean, it’s just playing. He’s doing great, and he plays hard. There’s things that he would know better if he just got more games. It happens to every young D. I still think he plays hard and will get there, but he’s also put in a situation where the minutes are up against tough opponents. That’s the way it is right now; we have no choice. But hey, he’ll be better for it.”
And Foote stood by his word. In his second game, the Canucks coach relied heavily on Willander, playing him 19:12 minutes against the St. Louis Blues.
Willander learned from some of his mistakes in his NHL debut, and implemented them against the Blues. He stays aggressive and pinches in the offensive zone, but this time, he’s able to use his speed to get back and tie up the trailer and completely eliminate him from the rush chance.
Fast forward to the start of the second period for an offensive zone faceoff. Willander takes a point shot, which gets blocked. The Blues dump it down the ice on Willander’s side.
This time on the puck retrieval, he shoulder checks twice to recognize the pressure coming. Willander kicks the up to his stick and quickly sends the puck to his open defence partner Marcus Pettersson, who buys time for Willander to turn back up ice for a clean transition through the neutral zone.
Later in the middle frame, Willander heads back on another puck retrieval, knowing that Pius Suter is on him with pressure. The young defenceman uses his 6’1″, 180-pound frame to box out Suter and protect the puck against the boards. With Suter now on the opposite side of the puck, Willander pokes the puck out of danger to Aatu Räty, and Joseph moves the puck up ice for the breakout.
Here, Willander gets tied up by Mathieu Joseph in the defensive zone. However, Willander does a good job to not let Joseph escape, taking the tie up to the corner. Again, Willander does a great job to completely box his check out of the scrum, and the Canucks retake possession.
Willander finished his second NHL game playing a much more pivotal role due to him learning from some of his rookie mistakes he made in his NHL debut. He looked like he fit in well in the offensive zone, putting pucks on net when presented the opportunity. His skating is a stron suit and puts him in advantageous situations in both ends of the ice.
There’s still a long way to go for him and his development. But the improvements he made over just a one game sample size, after utilizing some of the post-game comments from his coach and teammates has him on a positive trajectory just two games into his NHL career.
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With the Toronto Blue Jays, Vancouver Whitecaps, and BC Lions all involved in playoff games on Saturday, you might have come to the conclusion that an early season regular match up between the Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild would be a distant fourth on the excitement scale.
And you’d be right, good call, you nailed that one. Never let someone make you question your gut instincts ever again.
With the amount of injuries the Canucks are dealing with, along with the fact that Minnesota is where happiness goes to die, perhaps the only surprising thing about the game was that it ended 5-2 in Minnesota’s favour, instead of the usual 2-1 loss it tends to be.
I’ll also give credit to Minnesota in this one, as they used their skill players to break down the Canucks defence, and actually looked like the more exciting team.
As for Vancouver, let’s just say they should be happy that people had a lot of other viewing options this evening. Again, the context of a team missing a lot of its top players is very much a valid reason for the kinds of games we’re seeing from the team, but it doesn’t mean I can sit here and tell you about what an amazing night of hockey we just witnessed. When a game ends at seven high danger chances to six, that’s about a clear a sign as any that you’re either watching a defensive clinic, or a contest between two struggling teams trying to gut out a victory.
And so it was a close game until it wasn’t, and Vancouver didn’t have the horses to get back in this one. Surprisingly enough Drew O’Connor of all people led the resistance in this one, as he had himself a two goal night. We also had the amusement of having it clarified that yes, Brock Boeser got hit in the penis with the puck last game, not his balls, an important clarification so that people don’t accidentally chant “balls of steel” for him. “Carbon rod” or “In rod we trust” would be my suggestions, as I do anything in my power to delay diving into this game.
But much like Les Miserables taught us, “If I speak, I am condemned. If I stay silent, I am damned!” so let’s get on with this I suppose.
At this point in my #Canucks fan life, I don't care what shit this team puts me through, as long as John Shorthouse is commentating it, I'll be seated. It just takes the edge off.
— kelburn gorman(@blue_raven) November 1, 2025
According to Elite Prospects, Kirill Kaprizov is a talented hockey player. So it shouldn’t be surprising that he’s out here saucing a pass through the air perfectly to Marcus Johansson’s stick through the neutral zone, angering Romulans everywhere:
The good news is that Thatcher Demko would never let in a silly shot from that angle. Simply impossible. I almost wonder why Marcus bothered shooting it at all. It almost embarrasses the game of hockey that he tried that.
As for the Canucks, their best chance in the first period was when Fil Hronek jumped up along the boards to steal the puck and set up MacKenzie MacEachern for what I assume was the lone high danger chance listed for them in the opening period:
And once again we find ourselves with a period of hockey in which the Vancouver Canucks generated a single video clip of offence.
Sometimes I try and have fun and dress up a period of hockey either through finding amusing gifs from the game, or by doing a deep dive into how Tony Soprano didn’t appreciate Silvio Dante nearly enough, so let’s get into this: Everyone needs a Silvio Dante in their life. In this essay, I will argue that-
I thought Hughes was day-to-day not week-to-week #Canucks
— JohnnyCanuckDownUnder(@NuckDownUnder) November 1, 2025
Technically any long term injury can be day to day! That’s the beauty of it. It’s the “we don’t like putting a label on our relationship” of the hockey world; It gives you the wiggle room you need during hard conversations.
And without Quinn Hughes the Canucks have predictably struggled on zone entries, as they no longer have their guy who does the majority of the heavy lifting.
Which is where we see plays like this from Drew O’Connor, where he can use his speed to gain the zone, but ends up turning the puck over:
Drew’s ability to skate allows him to push teams back on their feet, which is how he can gain the zone with momentum. After that, I think that’s where Calendar can struggle. He can sometimes become a bit of a one man band where he just skates his ass as hard as he can, but doesn’t really have a plan once he’s done.
Which is what happened here. He skates hard and then pulls up, but can’t find a trailer to get the puck to. So eventually he just puts his head down and throws the puck into an area where it would be really neat if a teammate was waiting for it.
And it would be! When the no look pass to a dangerous spot on the ice works, it’s fantastic. Nothing better. The plan came together. You fist bump the guy at the bench and tell him you knew he was their the entire time. But when you it fails, it can lead to turnovers like this.
So there has to be a certain level of return on your no look passes where it won’t look bad on your resume.
Hank Sedin misses a no look pass? No problem, that’s the cost of doing business for the usual 95% accuracy he has on those.
A bottom six player who finds themselves passing to the ghosts of Christmas past more often than not? That’s where you start to worry about their ability to generate offence at a reliable clip in the NHL.
Until you score two goals on the night in an act of pure spite towards a local writer.
Now up next we have Max Sasson trying to use his speed to generate a zone entry, but he gets shut down and stripped of the puck along the boards:
So while we wait for the latest round of “How do you pronounce Sasson’s name? to come to a conclusion, we shall sit back and watch a team that, yes, probably misses Quinn Hughes’ ability to generate zone entries at will.
Tom Willander continues his NHL journey, and while “perfectly cromulent” continues to be his calling card, this might have been the best game of his NHL career to date? Nothing mind-blowing, mind you, we’re still landing hard in the cromulent drop zone, but I thought he held his own in this game.
He also had one hell of a rush, looking like a young Ed Jovanovski throwing caution to the wind, and just skating end to end before being denied by the post:
There is a world in which Vittorio and Tom take turns rushing down the ice trying to score end to end goals, but that is probably a world in which the coaches scream at them a lot and demands to know why they hate him.
With Arshdeep Bains serving his second penalty of the period, the Wild finally opened the scoring in this one off of a Vladimir Tarasenko goal:
I’m going to be straight with you, the chaos was not being harnessed by Tyler Myers this night. If anything, it was actively working against him, as Joel Eriksson-Ek was out here juggling the puck like a future Banana Ball player, before making the perfect pass over to Tarasenko.
Unfortunately for Vancouver, Myers and O’Connor both stepped up to make a play on the puck, which is what we call “getting thirsty” in Rocket League. And fair enough, the puck was loose, you can see why they’d try and make a play for it. But when both Canucks players stepped up, they let Tarasenko get in behind them free and clear.
And this was something Minnesota did really well the entire night. They would enter the zone and control the puck and get Vancouver chasing, and then before you knew it the Wild would find an open player beside the net for either a goal or a high danger shot on net.
An effective strategy, but as Les Mis taught us, “he never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.”
Right?
You get it.
The Canucks “best” period was in the second, as that’s when they generated their most shots, and even hit four whole high danger chances.
Their shot generation wasn’t what I would term exciting hockey, as a lot of it was “I guess I’ll get the puck to Fil Hronek” which is what at work when I’m asked to make documentation. I’ll get Fil right on it, boss.
First up we had Evander Kane skating down the ice, before losing the puck back to Fil, who stepped in to deliver a solid piss missile attempt:
Then we had Elias Pettersson do a slick back pass to Jake DeBrusk, who then skated to the middle of the ice before making a pass to Hronek:
The majority of the offence was generated via from the right point, which is what happens when you deploy the “why not Fil?” strategy:
Thoughts and prayers from the point has been a staple of this team’s offence for many a year now, and I don’t see that getting any better with the current state of the team. The Canucks get stuck to the outside of the ice and they do not have the skill to break teams down into making mistakes that let them generate open looks on net.
It was only a matter of time before one of Drew O’Connor or Lukas Reichel scored a goal, and on this night it was Drew. And it was off of a MacKenzie MacEachern rush, as we all knew it would be:
Hey, I might have my trepidations about Drew O’Connor generating offence in the NHL, but if you put him with speedy boys and let them do speedy things, I have a lot of time for that. Just get that puck and rush it down the nice, let’s go full Dukes of Hazard with it. Nothing complicated about this offence, but it was effective. Shoot puck on net, bash in rebound.
It’s almost as if great positioning is 90% of what makes his saves great. If Thatcher Demko is making a five-alarm save then something has gone incredibly wrong, not just in the game, but on earth itself.
And good positioning was needed on this night, as the Wild continued to find open looks on the net by moving the puck around the zone and having a player near the net quietly sneak to the side for a high danger shot.
A good example of this was off a Brock Faber rush to the net where Marcus Johansson was waiting on the opposite of the net and was able to jump on a loose puck, forcing Demko to make a glove save:
Now that play involved a bit of luck, as Faber wasn’t necessarily passing to Marcus,
But on this next play, watch as the Wild move the puck around before Hartman throws a precocious pass down low to Kaprizov, who is once again open by the side of the net:
Then you had the Wild once again gaining the zone and moving the puck around, waiting for the Canucks to break down, which allowed them to find Tarasenko where? By the side of the net:
On this play you see Bains overplay his hand by rushing over to the right side of the crease, so he’s late in getting back to defend the left side. These are the breakdowns the Wild relied on in this game with their puck movement, and it was working well for them.
And that’s how the game kind of went. Vancouver would generate some shots on net, but nothing very dangerous looking, while the Wild would keep getting more and more looks on net where it just felt like it was a matter of time before they scored.
Amusingly enough, the Wild’s next goal was firmly from the thoughts and prayers playbook, as they threw a shot on net from the point off of a faceoff and tapped in the rebound:
And while it wasn’t puck movement that killed the Canucks on this play, it was once again a Wild player who just sort of slid to the side of the net untouched and was able to get the goal
The Tyler Myers and PO Joseph pairing struggled to the point that I don’t really want to see it again for a game or two? I think we just need some time apart to see where we’re at in life. I just feel that Tyler Myers needs a partner who understands the Chaos Giraffe lifestyle, which means expecting the unexpected. You need to know how to ice a puck while also understanding that monkeys wielding flaming swords might appear at a moments notice.
Now after that goal, moments later on the powerplay, Matt Boldy just missed scoring from the side of the net as well:
Obviously a power play lends itself to breaking down defensive coverage, but it was just another example of the Wild finding success moving the puck east to west on the night, and finding open looks.
But sometimes you don’t need to find an open guy by the side of the net. Sometimes you just go end to end all by yourself, as Vinnie Hinostroza did on the Wild’s third goal:
Yes, that is Tyler Myers going full pylon on this play, using the dark arts of Erik Gudbranson to try and poke check his way out of trouble while not moving at all. I think he was tired on this shift, hence the hail mary “Oh shit, oh god, please let this poke check work” strategy he attempted to utilize, but as Arc Raiders has taught me, just because you want a safe evac doesn’t mean you’ll get one.
I also think we need to have a talk about assists in the NHL and how if they don’t directly lead to the goal in a timely fashion, you don’t get one. Brodin got an assist for this, and that upsets me.
There is something incredibly deflating watching the Minnesota Wild score on what the Canucks would consider a staple of their offensive strategy, ie the “hey at least we can get a faceoff” shot from the side boards, ie the cousin to the “thoughts and prayers” offence:
A goal that Thatcher Demko would want back, and one that won’t happen often, but I offer my apologies to Marcus Johansson for mocking his earlier shot attempt from a similar area earlier in the game. The Wild have struggled this season so it’s only natural that the PDO monster would rear it’s head the other way once in a while, and it’s safe to say Minnesota got lucky on this play.
That being said, they were also just the better team tonight because even when not scoring from prime Jake Virtanen angles, the Wild were just flat out generating much better looks on net:
Johansson gets that on net, that easily could have made it 5-1 right there.
And yes, that is Myers and Joseph struggling on another play. I told you this was not their night.
The Cnaucks would get their last goal of the night off of a faceoff in which Drew O’Connor simply walked into Mordor and shot it on net:
The Drew, Aatu, and Mackenzie line was the best on the night for Vancouver which is very much one of those “Fantastic for them, but probably not fantastic for the team” type of compliments. It’s on par with someone telling me that they appreciate that at least I tried to dress up nicely for dinner.
It was also another quiet night from Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk, who aside from maybe one or two shifts, you didn’t really notice much from them. Even on the powerplay it felt like a bunch of dudes who REALLY didn’t want to have to shoot the puck unless they had to, and even then are you sure they can’t pass the puck just one more time?
The best chance from Vancouver in the third period? A rush started by Jake DeBrusk, sending the puck to Reichel, who gave it to Kiefer, who sent it to Myers for the chaos bomb:
And while that’s a perfectly nice rush to watch, and I have nothing against it and would certainly be very open to having lunch with it to talk about our week, it also can’t be the highlight of your third period comeback.
Don’t get me wrong, the Canucks had some good offensive zone time in the third, but that felt like more of a result of the Wild sitting back and defending the lead, more than the Canucks really clamping down. Because even when the Canucks set up shop, they couldn’t get into the middle of the ice. The Wild kept them stuck to the outside, so the end result of most of the offensive forays from the Canucks were shots from the point, or a lost puck battle that led to a zone exit for the Wild.
The game was already over by this point, but since I am dedicated to showcasing you both the good and the bad in gif form, here is fifth and final goal from the Wild:
A thoughts and prayers point shot leading to a sniper shot from behind the net from Ryan Hartman. Ball game.
Again, not much to break down in this game. The Canucks are a beat-up team, and the Wild are desperate for wins, and that tends to be a recipe for a road loss in this league.
Onto the next.
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