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Instant Reaction: Canucks start strong but fall 4-2 to Wild in Hughes’ return to Vancouver

Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By David Quadrelli

Oct 26, 2026, 00:35 EDTUpdated: Oct 26, 2026, 00:57 EDT

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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

Lineup

O’Connor – EP40 – Boeser
DeBrusk – Rossi – Gallagher
Öhgren – Chytil – Lekkerimäki
Bains – Sasson – Karlsson

EP25 – Hronek
Buium – Willander
Brisebois – Schenn

First Period

The game began with a loud “Quinn you suck” chant from the Rogers Arena crowd, and on that same shift, Drew O’Connor and Elias Pettersson sandwiched Hughes, sending the ex-captain to the ice. Of course, that made the crowd very happy.

On the same shift, Liam Öhgren made a nice cut to the middle of the ice before feeding a streaking Zeev Buium, who fired a shot on Calvin Pickard that caused some trouble for the Wild goaltender. Then Elias Pettersson set up Elias Junior Pettersson for a good chance; Quinn Hughes uncharacteristically rushed his pass or bobbled the puck a couple of times, much to the delight of the home crowd.

The Canucks’ start to this game was phenomenal, and the exact opposite of the effort they turned in Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. The home crowd brought their best too. Some early chants:

“Quinn you suck”
“Quitter”
“He’s not signing”

Matt Boldy nearly opened the scoring for the Wild when he wristed a puck from the blue line that Kirill Kaprizov deflected from the high slot and off the crossbar behind Leevi Meriläinen.

Danila Yurov ran into Meriläinen behind the net, giving the Canucks their first power play of the game with just over five minutes left in the first period. The Canucks’ first power play of the night didn’t go well, as they struggled to get set up once they got into the zone. They didn’t put nearly enough pressure on Pickard during that two-minute sequence.

The Wild got their first power play of the game when Filip Chytil took a high-sticking penalty off a defensive zone faceoff. Drew O’Connor made a sharp defensive play while on the penalty kill, but the Wild managed to retain possession and work the puck down low, with Kirill Kaprizov firing a cross-crease pass to Maxim Shabonov, who tapped the puck past Meriläinen to open the scoring late in the first.

Power play goal for Minnesota!Scored by Maxim Shabanov with 01:27 left in the 1st. Assisted by Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy.VAN: 0 | MIN: 1#MINvsVAN #Canucks #mnwild

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T02:51:35.311414Z

1-0 Wild.

Some takeaways from the first:
-No Canuck passed up an opportunity to finish their check on Quinn Hughes in the first period.
-Hughes didn’t seem to want to keep the puck on his stick for very long…
-A lot easier to hear the sounds of the crowd when Amazon Prime is doing the games.
-Meriläinen was a bit sloppy to start this game, but made some nice saves in recovery.
-Overall a pretty strong opening 20 minutes from the Canucks, and a really strong opening five minutes.

Second Period

The boos continued for Hughes, and the Canucks again had a strong start to the period.

At the end of each of their shifts, Jonathan Lekkerimäki made a pass just inside the Canucks’ blue line to Filip Chytil, but Chytil bobbled the pass, and in the blink of an eye, the puck was in the back of the Canucks’ net as Bobby Brink dangled around Meriläinen to push the Wild lead to two.

Minnesota goal!Scored by Bobby Brink with 14:06 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Michael McCarron.VAN: 0 | MIN: 2#MINvsVAN #Canucks #mnwild

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T03:21:36.284362Z

2-0.

Arsh Bains found himself on a partial breakaway after a nice setup from Brendan Gallagher in the neutral zone, but was hauled down before he could really get a shot off — no call on the play.

The Canucks were no longer stacking shifts on the Wild as they were in the first period, and were in need of something to get some life injected back into the building.

Instead, Drew O’Connor took a tripping penalty with 7:30 left in the second, and on the ensuing power play, Quinn Hughes made some magic happen.

Power play goal for Minnesota!Scored by Quinn Hughes with 07:05 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Joel Eriksson Ek and Maxim Shabanov.VAN: 0 | MIN: 3#MINvsVAN #Canucks #mnwild

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T03:41:36.243703Z

3-0 Wild.

Liam Öhgren took a hooking penalty deep in the Minnesota end

Some takeaways from the second:
-Well, at least the first was fun!
-That got a bit sad in the second.
–What’s Fil Hronek worth in a trade these days?
-Another strong game for Elias Junior Pettersson.

Third Period

Goal for the third: Finish the game strong.

The Canucks got hemmed in at their end, dumped the puck, and changed lines, and in the blink of an eye, Quinn Hughes worked it up to Kaprizov, who moved to his backhand and buried his league-leading 13th goal.

Minnesota goal!Scored by Kirill Kaprizov with 16:22 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Quinn Hughes.VAN: 0 | MIN: 4#MINvsVAN #Canucks #mnwild

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T04:11:34.926809Z

4-0.

The ice was tilted very firmly in the Wild’s favour once again. Those first five minutes of the first period were REALLY exciting.

The Canucks showed a sign of life as Filip Hronek rifled a long stretch pass up to a slashing Max Sasson, who moved in on a breakaway and beat Pickard five-hole.

Vancouver goal!Scored by Max Sasson with 13:36 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson.VAN: 1 | MIN: 4#MINvsVAN #Canucks #mnwild

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T04:21:33.898988Z

4-1.

The Canucks took another penalty with under 10 minutes remaining, giving the Wild their fourth consecutive power play. On the PK, Brock Boeser rifled the puck over the glass from his own end, giving the Wild nearly a full minute of 5-on-3 time to work with. The Canucks did well to kill off the 5-on-3, with Elias forward Pettersson especially standing out.

The Canucks built some quick momentum after a couple of beautiful saves from Leevi Meriläinen kickstarted them going the other way. Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson executed a nice little give-and-go, with Boeser serving as the triggerman to pull the Canucks within two.

Vancouver goal!Scored by Brock Boeser with 03:07 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk.VAN: 2 | MIN: 4#MINvsVAN #Canucks #mnwild

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-26T04:41:34.827476Z

4-2.

The Canucks pulled Meriläinen late and hunted for two goals. They controlled in the Wild end, but ran out of time.

4-2 final. 10 straight losses.

What’s your instant reaction to this game? Let us know in the comments section below! And be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver LIVE after the game on the Daily Faceoff Vancouver YouTube channel. Check out our live programming button in the top right of our website for easy access!