logo
CanucksArmy has no direct affiliation to the Vancouver Canucks, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Instant Reaction: Lankinen’s 32 saves not enough as Canucks lose 3-2 in OT vs. Jets
alt
Photo credit: © Terrence Lee-Imagn Images
Tyson Cole
Mar 7, 2026, 22:50 EST
Comments
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

Sportsnet 650’s radio host, Brendan Batchelor, is out tonight due to illness. Randip Janda gets the nod for tonight’s starting lineup.
Head Coach Adam Foote is not messing with Friday night’s winning lineup. That means no 6’9″ Curtis Douglas. The only change is that Kevin Lankinen gets the start tonight.

First period

Morgan Barron gave the Canucks a scare when he rang a snapshot from the top of the right circle off the post two minutes into the game that left Lankinen sprawling in desperation, but it stayed out.
It took the Canucks a few minutes to settle into this game. They did not register a shot on goal for over seven minutes into the opening period – but they made it count.
Teddy Blueger sends an outlet pass to a streaking Max Sasson through the neutral zone. He enters the zone and drops it back to Linus Karlsson, so burrows through two Jets players and gets enough on the shot to fire it into the far-side top corner over Connor Hellebuyck on the Canucks’ first shot on goal of the game.
1-0 Canucks.
The ice was very tilted in the Jets’ favour after the goal. But Kevin Lankinen was up for the challenge, stopping a few solid Jets chances. It took the Canucks nearly five minutes after registering their second shot of the game, as Marco Rossi tips a Jets clearing attempt, which lands perfectly in an area for Brock Boeser to skate onto the puck and fire a backhand shot on Hellebuyck. Liam Öhgren was nearly able to tuck home the rebound, but missed the chance.
It was a bit more of the same after this point. A lot of Jets pressure, but as he did on Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Lankinen had a strong first period. He stopped 14 of 15 shots he faced in that game, and all 10 he saw in this opening frame. Nils Höglander and Elias Pettersson added a pair of shots on goal in the final minute of the frame, but the Canucks were still outshot 10-5 through the first 20 minutes.

Second period

Just like the first period, the second started slowly. The Jets had a slight edge in the shot on goal department and registered the best chance when Adam Lowry found Gabe Vilardi in stride entering the Canucks zone. Vilardi holds the puck in a shooting position, dropping Lankinen out of his crease, dekes around the sprawling goaltender and tries to tuck it in behind him. However, the puck slides through the crease with the net wide open because Victor Mancini boxed out Cole Perfetti.
The Jets held the zone after the chance, which resulted in Zeev Buium taking the first infraction of the game. With the extra attacker, the Jets cause chaos around the Canucks net. Vilardi, again, sends the puck through the crease behind Lankinen. The puck bounces out to the slot for Morgan Barron to get a Grade-A chance on net, but Lankinen made the save lying on his side along the goal line.
Vancouver’s penalty killers did a great job of not allowing the puck to the middle of the ice on the ensuing power play, and held the Jets without a shot on goal. Considering the Canucks’ penalty kill was at 66.7% in the five games post-Olympic break, it was a solid kill.
That power play opportunity sparked something in the Jets. Following the power play, the Jets continued to pour it on, sending another two chances through the crease behind Lankinen, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
The Canucks’ best chance came with about five minutes to go in the second, when Sasson, for the second straight game, used his speed to his advantage by chipping the puck past the defender when on a rush through the neutral zone. Much like his empty net goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, Sasson was first on the puck and fired a cross-crease pass to Karlsson, who hit the outside of the post on his one-time attempt.
Winnipeg had another high-quality chance near the end of the period, this time from its fourth line. Dylan Samberg took a blast from the point; Barron attempted to flick the puck to his forehand, which went perfectly onto the stick of Cole Koepke for a chance. Lankinen comes way out of his net to get a piece of it, but Koepke grabs his own rebound. He takes the puck behind the net for a wrap-around attempt, but Elias Pettersson (D) drops to his knees and keeps the post covered to keep the puck out.
The Jets were turning up the heat, and it felt like, with all these chances, it was only a matter of time before they would capitalize. And with under a minute remaining, they did just that.
After an icing call with 12 seconds remaining, Jonathan Toews wins the faceoff directly to Mark Scheifele, who wheels the puck to the high slot and fires a wrist shot top shelf past Lankinen to tie the game heading into the final break.
1-1 tie.

Third period

The Canucks didn’t have strong starts to the first two periods, but they were just saving their best efforts for the third.
Linus Karlsson wins the race to the loose puck in the left circle, draws a penalty while also shovelling a pass to Teddy Blueger in the slot. With his back turned to the net, Blueger is able to see an open Öhgren, who drops to a knee and fires a shot through Hellebuyck’s five-hole to give the Canucks the lead just over 30 seconds into the period.
2-1 Canucks.
As most of the game has gone to this point, the Jets continued to control play territorially. The Jets’ dynamic duo of Kyle Connor and Scheifele got to work in the offensive zone, and nearly connected on a one-time slot shot from the Canadian centre. But it was the Canucks’ Finnish netminder who won that battle.
The next 12 minutes or so were as expected: the team trailing pushed hard to tie the game, but Lankinen wasn’t having any of it. But he faced his biggest challenge when Sasson took a cross-checking penalty when he sent Dylan Demelo headfirst into the boards with six minutes to go.
Winnipeg was generating some threatening pressure on the ensuing power play. Schiefele held the puck on the left half-wall, drawing Filip Hronek toward him. With Marcus Pettersson following Cole Perfetti to the slot, this left Vilardi all alone at the net front, and he made a couple of dekes and roofed a backhand shot over Lankinen to tie the game, again.
2-2 tie.
This game is going to overtime.

Overtime

The Canucks started the extra frame with Blueger, Öhgren, and Hronek. After the faceoff win, Blueger changed for Rossi, who gave possession to the Jets following a wrist shot from distance. The Jets then maintained possession for a while, getting their best chance on a Kyle Connor rush, but Lankinen made the save.
An errant Jets pass leads to the Canucks regaining possession, and Jake DeBrusk springs Pettersson on a breakaway. He shoots from the hashmarks, but Hellebuyck makes the right pad save.
After the Pettersson chance, the Jets head the other way on a three-on-two. Connor drops the puck to Scheifele, who passes it to Josh Morrissey, who attempts a slap-pass to Connor. That pass attempt deflects off Hronek’s left skate and behind Lankinen.
3-2 Jets Final.
Takeaways from tonight’s game:
– Lankinen had a nice bounce-back performance after he was pulled following three second period goals against the Carolina Hurricanes. He stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced, but walks away with the loss on his record. It hasn’t been his best season, and I find he slides out of his crease and out of position far more than he did last season, but it was a solid effort for the Canucks netminder.
– Sasson and Karlsson just look better when they’re playing with each other. Karlsson was quiet without Sasson in the lineup, being held pointless in the three games without him. It’s no surprise that he’s now picked up points in three straight now that he’s back in the lineup. Their chemistry stems back to their Abbotsford days, but it’s a duo that should stick together moving forward.
– The third on Sasson and Karlsson’s line is Blueger. And I just find it hard to believe that there wasn’t a market for him. Blueger is a better player than David Kämpf, whom the Canucks were able to sell to the Washington Capitals for a sixth-round pick. Don’t get it twisted, Blueger is still just a fourth-line centre on a contending team. But even at that point, he had eight points in 14 games. And after this last set of games, he’s up to 11 points in 16 games on the season.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
Sponsored by bet365

Editorials

Breaking News