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Instant Reaction: Cootes and Bains click late as Canucks lose 4-2 to Kraken
Photo credit: © Blake Dahlin-Imagn Images
Sep 20, 2026, 00:11 EDTUpdated: Sep 20, 2026, 00:21 EDT
Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
Starting Lineup
1st Period
The first preseason game means shaking off some rust, and that’s how the Canucks and Kraken combined for four penalties in the first period, including two less than three minutes in.
The Canucks’ second penalty, a cross-check by Sawyer Mynio, brought the Kraken power play to life. Ryan Lindgren started the breakout, Jacob Melanson found Jani Nyman streaking down the left wing side, and Nyman got a shot off that handcuffed Nikita Tolopilo and dribbled in.
Jani Nyman off the rush gets the Kraken on the board first. #Canucks
Nyman’s shot is one that Tolopilo should snag in the regular season. For period one of the preseason, we’ll give it a pass.
1-0 Kraken.
The Canucks got a chance to respond with Julius Miettinen in the box, and the power play had some decent chances, but Joey Daccord shut the door.
Couple good chances for the #Canucks power play testing Joey Daccord.
Then, with seconds to go in the first, the Kraken won the puck back behind the Vancouver goal, and as the Canucks collapsed to the front of the net, no one marked a wide-open Ty Nelson waiting for the puck in the high slot.
Sawyer Mynio loses a puck battle to Jacob Melanson down low, and it leads to Ty Nelson roofing the puck from the high slot to make it 2-0 Kraken. #Canucks
2-0 Kraken.
Some thoughts from the first period:
- Sawyer Mynio’s penalty is largely due to Victor Mancini making an awful read and giving the puck away right in front of his net. That type of decision-making has to be a whole lot better if Mancini wants a legitimate shot at making the big club.
- Speaking of Mynio, he had the Canucks’ best power play chance with a shot from distance, but no one was screening Daccord or making his job tougher in front of the net. Someone’s gotta step into that spot.
2nd Period
It might be the preseason, but the bones of Kraken hockey are firmly planted in this contest.
The second period was a grinding, slow-paced affair, and that’s exactly how the Seattle Kraken like it. Even with three power plays, neither team reached double digits in shots on goal or found the back of the net.
The Canucks power play got another chance to cut into the Seattle lead, with Tyson Jugnauth in the box for holding Aatu Räty. Both of the Canucks’ best opportunities came from Matthew Stienburg’s stick work, but neither found paydirt.
Among the #Canucks best chances in the second period: this jam play by Matthew Stienburg and his setup pass attempt for Max Sasson.
Some solid hustle by Vilmer Alriksson created a scoring chance out of nothing, but he just couldn’t get a clean pass through.
Moments like this are why I retain some small amount of hope for Vilmer Alriksson. That size and puck protection give him a chance. Would've liked to see him put a puck on net to create a rebound instead of trying to sneak a pass across. #Canucks
Some thoughts on the second:
- Matthew Stienburg seems to be all over this hockey game, and mostly for good things! Put the penalty aside, and he’s already showing some flashes that could earn him good AHL minutes.
- My colleague Jeff Paterson with an interesting note on Aatu Räty:
he's drawn a penalty and taken a penalty. Otherwise not a whole lot happening for #Canucks Raty so far. But he's already in mid-season form in the circle going 10-2 on the draw so far tonight
3rd Period
After a low-event middle frame, the Kraken wasted little time in the third. Some quick puck movement down low found its way to Logan Morrison at the hashmarks, and he made no mistake.
Logan Morrison makes it 3-0 Kraken early in the third. #Canucks
3-0 Kraken.
The Canucks nearly found the scoresheet after a Kirill Kudryavtsev shot got broken up and bounced onto Adam Novotný’s stick. If not for a Kirk McLean pad stack from *checks notes* defenceman Cale Fleury, that would have gone in.
Adam Novotný comes agonizingly close to getting the #Canucks on the board in a mad scramble, but he's robbed by a sliding Cale Fleury.
Then, when all seemed lost, Braeden Cootes put together a 2-on-1 with Arshdeep Bains by chipping the puck up from his own end. Cootes received the puck back from Bains, turned his back to the goal as if he was planning to pass and fooled Nikke Kokko by turning and whipping a gorgeous shot past the blocker to break the combined shutout.
Outstanding play start to finish by Braeden Cootes, who creates the 2-on-1, then finishes it off at the other end. Smart work by Arshdeep Bains to open up for the potential one-timer, which had to be in the goaltender's head. #Canucks
3-1 Kraken.
Then the top line got another power play opportunity with Jagger Firkus in the sin bin for knocking the net off. What transpired was an absolutely perfect pass from Cootes to Arshdeep Bains, who one-timed the puck past Kokko to make it a one-goal hockey game.
Some great passing by the #Canucks power play and Arshdeep Bains cuts the lead to one.
3-2 Kraken.
But as soon as the Canucks giveth, they taketh away. Losing board battles killed the Canucks in their own end, and this time Jonathan Lekkerimäki got swarmed behind the net, leaving Jake O’Brien a little too open in front of it. Game, set and match.
That might be it for the #Canucks. Lekkerimäki loses the puck to the forecheck, and O'Brien restores the two-goal lead for the Kraken.
Kraken win 4-2.
Some final thoughts:
- They arrived a little late, but the top line showed up in a big way. Cootes’ hockey IQ was on full display in the third period, and he’s playing with the same level of confidence he showed last year. Bains had himself a strong finish as well, even if he missed his check on that last Kraken goal.
- Nikita Tolopilo should’ve had the first goal, but it’s hard to fault him on much else that happened tonight, with a lot of missed assignments around the net.
- Up until the latter stages, not a lot of Canucks were really shining in this contest. But it’s the first game of the preseason; let’s not lose our heads about anything here.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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