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3 Canucks Stars of the Week: Boeser and Rossi continue to drive offence
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Arielle Lalande
Mar 23, 2026, 18:00 EDT
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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!
The Vancouver Canucks were a mixed bag this past week, which should not surprise anyone at this point. In the world of the NHL, where the life cycle of a team can change so rapidly from year to year, it just makes sense that the last-place team in the league beat the current reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions 5-2. The Panthers are increasingly likely to miss the playoffs after making the Stanley Cup final three years in a row, and two years ago, the Canucks were Pacific Division champions. Life comes at you cruel and fast. 
Alas, Vancouver was not meant to completely dominate the state of Florida this week, since the Tampa Bay Lightning came to town and crushed what spirits remained in Rogers Arena with a dominant 6-2 win. This was capped off with a 3-1 loss to an equally capsizing St. Louis Blues team, which also traded away its captain this season. 
The Canucks were officially eliminated from playoff contention this past weekend, which means the team has made the playoffs twice since the 2016-17 season. “Two out of 10 ain’t bad” is how the famous saying goes, right? 

Rock Bottom Stats Corner

Games played this week(s): 3
Games won this week(s): 1
Goals scored this week(s): 8
Goals against this week(s): 11
Total points gained this week(s): 2
Games since last win: 2
Games won in 2026: 5
Goals scored in 2026: 66
Goals against in 2026: 121
Players traded in 2026: 7

Marco Rossi

Marco Rossi is a very fun player to watch right now. Perhaps it’s still the novelty of a new player, but having a top-six centre actually playing like one is exciting. No disrespect to Elias Pettersson, who had himself a vintage game against Florida with two goals on the power play. Frankly, we are just looking at one person who has come to know the horrors of Canucks hockey far too well, and someone who is brand new to it. That said, the two are even working well together – take Rossi’s primary assist on Pettersson’s first power play goal. Rossi has only been here for five minutes and still has faith in Petey’s epic one-timers. Why can’t the rest of us?
There is something different about Rossi – call it an energy, or a vibe. He noticeably came into the team in a tough spot after a blockbuster trade, but has played with the effort of someone still trying to make a playoff push. And that is really what rebuilding a roster is about – it is not just about finding players who will show up when it’s most important, it is about finding players who will show up no matter what. Phoning it in when a season is already lost is not a philosophy that builds playoff-ready players for the future. Rossi was further down the depth chart in Minnesota, a team with a very neat stack of talent up and down its roster right now. Vancouver gives Rossi a chance to play like a consistent franchise load-bearing centre, and he is taking advantage of that opportunity. He now has points in five straight games, leaving with six points in three games this week alone. 

Kevin Lankinen

Fine, I’ll just come out and say it: Kevin Lankinen deserves better than the relative quagmire he has been forced to backstop this year.
While I think the healthy skepticism that still hangs around his five-year contract is warranted, he had a stronger week between the pipes than the team’s 1-2-0 record suggests. He was unequivocally a major factor in the team beating the Panthers and landing a much-needed home win, and put in a commendable effort against Tampa that just could not make up for the defensive snafu playing out in front of him. It was a similar case against St. Louis later in the week. Despite Nikita Tolopilo seeming like the stronger goaltender out of the gate after the return from the Olympics, Lankinen has gradually returned to the number two tandem guy we all know and love. With Thatcher Demko’s career longevity having some critical question marks around it, Lankinen has an opportunity down the stretch to remind everyone what he is made of. With the Canucks already eliminated from playoff contention, the stakes could not possibly be lower. He should get into a goalie fight for no reason other than “It would be fun, and nothing matters now.”
Despite the final score against Tampa being so lopsided, Lankinen also managed to commit not just one but two phenomenal glove saves on Brandon Hagel, who looks like he’s trying to explode the puck with his mind after the second save. 

Brock Boeser

Is Brock Boeser “back?” Well, it depends on who you ask. But the longest-tenured Canuck seems to enjoy the game again, which, believe it or not, has been a tall order the last few seasons.
Both Boeser and Rossi had three assists apiece against Florida, and both factored in on Liam Öhgren’s goal against Tampa. All three of them factored in on Rossi’s goal against Florida, and Rossi and Boeser picked up helpers on both of Petterson’s power play goals. That is clearly a partnership that’s working on both the power play and at even strength, and a breath of fresh air compared to the game of musical chairs that has been going on this season. Then again, it is hard to have consistent lines and pairings when your roster has more turnovers than a bakery. Whoever is coaching this team next year, something I will not speculate nor comment on, should take note of this line moving forward as a very viable first or second line mainstay. 
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