<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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!</span></p>
<p>I&#8217;ll level with you all. It&#8217;s difficult to select outstanding performers of the week when a team is coming off of a humiliating 5-1 loss on home ice, an arena in which they&#8217;ve struggled this year. Their <em>own</em> arena.</p>
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<p>Nevertheless, I have to. There were still good moments and even better players throughout this week, which saw a 4-3 overtime loss against the St. Louis Blues and a 3-0 shutout win against the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Florida Panthers.</p>
<p>It would be a disappointment to lose at home like they did last night against any team. It stung that it was the Boston Bruins, for obvious reasons, but also because the Bruins are a team struggling to stay afloat, that the Canucks beat just weeks ago 1-0 in a smothering masterclass in defence and goaltending from Kevin Lankinen.</p>
<p>Last night&#8217;s loss wasn&#8217;t just disappointing, though. It was worrying. Their failure to fight back and lack of compete once they accepted defeat is not who this team fundamentally is. I believe that. Let&#8217;s just hope they do too.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s just get into it.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">this is literally their last two games lmao <a href="https://t.co/tWVbZbeQ1B">https://t.co/tWVbZbeQ1B</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mr Booth (@MrBooth07) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrBooth07/status/1868163675980505213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>Kevin Lankinen</h3>
<p>Kevin Lankinen has been the saving grace for this team countless times since his arrival in September. This week was no different.</p>
<p>His shutout win against the Panthers saw him save all 27 shots on net. While the Panthers were held to limited high-danger chances, embarrassing the most recent Cup team with a shutout is as much on the goaltender as it is on the team in front of them, keeping the puck out of their own zone. This is a Panthers team armed with Sergei Bobrovsky, too, mind you.</p>
<p>In the previous meeting of these two teams – which saw J.T. Miller win it 3-2 for Vancouver in overtime – Kevin Lankinen was named second star of the game after stopping 26 off 28 shots with a .929  save percentage (S%). It could be that this Florida team just doesn&#8217;t have him figured out yet, but for a match-up that only happens twice a year, Vancouver is more than happy to reap the benefits. This week was the last they&#8217;ll see of the cats until next season.</p>
<p>Kevin Lankinen now sits at three shutouts on the season and is tied for most in the league, along with Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets – good company to be in – and&#8230;Sam Montembault of the Montreal Canadiens? Sure.</p>
<h3>Max Sasson</h3>
<p>Despite the circumstances surrounding Saturday night&#8217;s game, Max Sasson scored his first NHL goal, which he&#8217;s been steadily aiming for each game that he&#8217;s been in the lineup. He&#8217;s had a few good looks so far but just hadn&#8217;t had the good luck.</p>
<p>Against the Panthers earlier in the week, Sasson and the fourth line of Teddy Blueger and Danton Heinen were absolutely phenomenal. Sasson and Blueger assisted on Carson Soucy&#8217;s opening goal, and Sasson and Blueger again on Heinen&#8217;s goal to follow it up. The Florida game, in itself, was a defining moment for Sasson, and it&#8217;s no wonder that he followed it up in the next game with his first in the net. The fourth line against Florida <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/statsies-kevin-lankinen-stops-over-two-expected-goals-canucks-shutout-win-over-panthers">led the Canucks that night in expected goals for at even-strength</a>, in fact. While the Florida game was definitely an outlier kind of night, for multiple reasons, Sasson still displayed how excellent of a bottom-six player he can be when the rest of the team around him isn&#8217;t backsliding into an upset.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">“A goal in this league isn’t easy to come by. I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life. I’ll remember this moment.”</p>
<p>🗣 Max Sasson meets with the media after scoring his first NHL goal.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/theprovince?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@theprovince</a> <a href="https://t.co/C2B5z5yem9">pic.twitter.com/C2B5z5yem9</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1868177461311307986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Sasson saved Saturday from being an all-out shutout from the Bruins, and that counts for something in my books.</p>
<h3>Thatcher Demko</h3>
<p>Oops, (almost) all goalies this week.</p>
<p>I hoped upon hope that the team in front of Thatcher Demko would not embarrass him upon his return between the pipes, but hope can only do so much.</p>
<p>His return this week against the Blues and again his start against the Bruins are not exactly star-worthy games, posting a .840 and .821 S% in each, respectively. But that doesn&#8217;t tell the whole story. It almost never does.</p>
<p>He deserves a star simply for coming back from an injury, as mysterious as it might have been to nail down and treat, that could have sidelined him for much, much longer. This third star is a star out of spite. He was going to get it regardless of how he performed coming back, but it has been hard to see him let down by the pieces around him.</p>
<p>Demko is playing up to standard for someone who hasn&#8217;t played in the league in eight months. Once he has a few more starts under his belt, he is sure to be back to his normal self, but even then, he has put together some remarkable saves this week. This team has not given him the grace of easing him back into his net but rather thrown him in the deep end into sub-zero water temperatures.</p>
<h3><strong>Honourable Mentions</strong></h3>
<h3>J.T. Miller</h3>
<p>J.T. Miller made his return to the lineup after personal leave against the Panthers, and I breathed a sigh of relief at how things were finally looking up for the Canucks. Perhaps this was pre-emptive.</p>
<p>Still, Miller saw his first assist back to be a good ol&#8217; faithful Hughes to Miller to Boeser, and it felt like no time had passed at all. He would pick up another on Jake DeBrusk&#8217;s power-play goal. Against the Bruins, Miller had the sole assist on the lone goal by Max Sasson. Funnily enough, this is the second time Miller has assisted on a first NHL goal this year, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/watch-vancouver-canucks-jonathan-lekkerimaki-scores-first-career-nhl-goal">following Jonathan Lekkerimäki&#8217;s first earlier this year</a>. Miller has yet to score himself since his return, but hopefully, that will be coming in no time.</p>
<p>I respect his decision to take leave just as I respect his decision not to discuss the details of it, but I am happy to see all the moving parts of this team back in their rightful places, anyhow.</p>
<h3>Brock Boeser</h3>
<p>Against Florida, Boeser celebrated his 500th career game, finishing the week with 1G 2A. After overcoming absences over the years due to multiple injuries, as well as the struggles he&#8217;s faced in his personal journey, this is no small accomplishment. After missing significant time in November due to a concussion, it&#8217;s sealed the fact that – now, especially, after nearly nine years and 500 games – this Canucks group as we know it doesn&#8217;t look or feel the same without him.</p>
<h3>Dakota Joshua</h3>
<p>He scored his first goal since his cancer diagnosis, and subsequent treatment and return to the team. Enough said. Naturally, it was assisted by Conor Garland as well. Here&#8217;s to wishing for continued good health for Joshua and a great path forward.</p>
<h3>Quinn Hughes</h3>
<p>Obligatory Quinn Hughes three stars of the week mention. As one of you pointed out in the comment section last week, this column could be called &#8220;Canucks 3 Stars of the Week and Also Quinn Hughes.&#8221;</p>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">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!</span>

I'll level with you all. It's difficult to select outstanding performers of the week when a team is coming off of a humiliating 5-1 loss on home ice, an arena in which they've struggled this year. Their <em>own</em> arena.
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Nevertheless, I have to. There were still good moments and even better players throughout this week, which saw a 4-3 overtime loss against the St. Louis Blues and a 3-0 shutout win against the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Florida Panthers.

It would be a disappointment to lose at home like they did last night against any team. It stung that it was the Boston Bruins, for obvious reasons, but also because the Bruins are a team struggling to stay afloat, that the Canucks beat just weeks ago 1-0 in a smothering masterclass in defence and goaltending from Kevin Lankinen.

Last night's loss wasn't just disappointing, though. It was worrying. Their failure to fight back and lack of compete once they accepted defeat is not who this team fundamentally is. I believe that. Let's just hope they do too.

Let's just get into it.

https://twitter.com/MrBooth07/status/1868163675980505213
<h3>Kevin Lankinen</h3>
Kevin Lankinen has been the saving grace for this team countless times since his arrival in September. This week was no different.

His shutout win against the Panthers saw him save all 27 shots on net. While the Panthers were held to limited high-danger chances, embarrassing the most recent Cup team with a shutout is as much on the goaltender as it is on the team in front of them, keeping the puck out of their own zone. This is a Panthers team armed with Sergei Bobrovsky, too, mind you.

In the previous meeting of these two teams – which saw J.T. Miller win it 3-2 for Vancouver in overtime – Kevin Lankinen was named second star of the game after stopping 26 off 28 shots with a .929  save percentage (S%). It could be that this Florida team just doesn't have him figured out yet, but for a match-up that only happens twice a year, Vancouver is more than happy to reap the benefits. This week was the last they'll see of the cats until next season.

Kevin Lankinen now sits at three shutouts on the season and is tied for most in the league, along with Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets – good company to be in – and...Sam Montembault of the Montreal Canadiens? Sure.
<h3>Max Sasson</h3>
Despite the circumstances surrounding Saturday night's game, Max Sasson scored his first NHL goal, which he's been steadily aiming for each game that he's been in the lineup. He's had a few good looks so far but just hadn't had the good luck.

Against the Panthers earlier in the week, Sasson and the fourth line of Teddy Blueger and Danton Heinen were absolutely phenomenal. Sasson and Blueger assisted on Carson Soucy's opening goal, and Sasson and Blueger again on Heinen's goal to follow it up. The Florida game, in itself, was a defining moment for Sasson, and it's no wonder that he followed it up in the next game with his first in the net. The fourth line against Florida <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/statsies-kevin-lankinen-stops-over-two-expected-goals-canucks-shutout-win-over-panthers">led the Canucks that night in expected goals for at even-strength</a>, in fact. While the Florida game was definitely an outlier kind of night, for multiple reasons, Sasson still displayed how excellent of a bottom-six player he can be when the rest of the team around him isn't backsliding into an upset.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1868177461311307986

Sasson saved Saturday from being an all-out shutout from the Bruins, and that counts for something in my books.
<h3>Thatcher Demko</h3>
Oops, (almost) all goalies this week.

I hoped upon hope that the team in front of Thatcher Demko would not embarrass him upon his return between the pipes, but hope can only do so much.

His return this week against the Blues and again his start against the Bruins are not exactly star-worthy games, posting a .840 and .821 S% in each, respectively. But that doesn't tell the whole story. It almost never does.

He deserves a star simply for coming back from an injury, as mysterious as it might have been to nail down and treat, that could have sidelined him for much, much longer. This third star is a star out of spite. He was going to get it regardless of how he performed coming back, but it has been hard to see him let down by the pieces around him.

Demko is playing up to standard for someone who hasn't played in the league in eight months. Once he has a few more starts under his belt, he is sure to be back to his normal self, but even then, he has put together some remarkable saves this week. This team has not given him the grace of easing him back into his net but rather thrown him in the deep end into sub-zero water temperatures.
<h3><strong>Honourable Mentions</strong></h3>
<h3>J.T. Miller</h3>
J.T. Miller made his return to the lineup after personal leave against the Panthers, and I breathed a sigh of relief at how things were finally looking up for the Canucks. Perhaps this was pre-emptive.

Still, Miller saw his first assist back to be a good ol' faithful Hughes to Miller to Boeser, and it felt like no time had passed at all. He would pick up another on Jake DeBrusk's power-play goal. Against the Bruins, Miller had the sole assist on the lone goal by Max Sasson. Funnily enough, this is the second time Miller has assisted on a first NHL goal this year, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/watch-vancouver-canucks-jonathan-lekkerimaki-scores-first-career-nhl-goal">following Jonathan Lekkerimäki's first earlier this year</a>. Miller has yet to score himself since his return, but hopefully, that will be coming in no time.

I respect his decision to take leave just as I respect his decision not to discuss the details of it, but I am happy to see all the moving parts of this team back in their rightful places, anyhow.
<h3>Brock Boeser</h3>
Against Florida, Boeser celebrated his 500th career game, finishing the week with 1G 2A. After overcoming absences over the years due to multiple injuries, as well as the struggles he's faced in his personal journey, this is no small accomplishment. After missing significant time in November due to a concussion, it's sealed the fact that – now, especially, after nearly nine years and 500 games – this Canucks group as we know it doesn't look or feel the same without him.
<h3>Dakota Joshua</h3>
He scored his first goal since his cancer diagnosis, and subsequent treatment and return to the team. Enough said. Naturally, it was assisted by Conor Garland as well. Here's to wishing for continued good health for Joshua and a great path forward.
<h3>Quinn Hughes</h3>
Obligatory Quinn Hughes three stars of the week mention. As one of you pointed out in the comment section last week, this column could be called "Canucks 3 Stars of the Week and Also Quinn Hughes."

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