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Instant Reaction: Tolopilo stops 25 shots as Canucks fall 3-2 to Jets in overtime
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Photo credit: © Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
David Quadrelli
Feb 26, 2026, 00:49 EST
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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!

Starting Lineup

Great job by the Canucks in-arena, and an even better job by John Shorthouse on the broadcast to honour the late Jim Robson before this game got underway.

First Period

The Jets came out with a purpose to begin this game, and Nikita Tolopilo had to be sharp right from the get-go. He made a beautiful right pad save off a cross-crease chance in the first few minutes, and helped the Canucks withstand the early Winnipeg pressure.
That gave Drew O’Connor time to go the other way and snipe one five-hole on Eric Comrie to give the Canucks an early lead.
1-0 and the assist to birthday boy Brock Boeser.
Evander Kane got dumped by Dylan Samberg behind the Jets’ goal, and after appealing to the ref for a penalty, Kane retaliated and took the game’s first penalty. On the power play, the Jets struggled to get set up, and the game stayed 1-0 Canucks.
With just over eight minutes left in the period, Mark Scheifele made a nice pass behind the grain to Kyle Connor, who buried his 26th goal of the season to tie this one up.
Some takeaways from the first:
-Liked some of what I saw from Marco Rossi playing with Brock Boeser.
-Nikita Tolopilo’s athleticism is flat-out impressive.
-Liam Öhgren was one of the Canucks’ best players before the break, and he nearly had a goal in the opening 20. It might have been a high stick, but it was still nearly a goal nonetheless, and that counts for something!

Second Period

Off an early faceoff win from Elias Pettersson, Evander Kane ripped a shot far side on Eric Comrie to give the Canucks their second lead of the night.
2-1 Canucks. If I were an opposing GM, I’d be giving up a second round pick for Kane ASAP. You just can’t risk missing out on an opportunity like this.
The Jets responded well after this goal, and began to apply some serious pressure onto the Canucks. Winnipeg earned their second power play chance of the game after Nils Höglander took an offensive zone hooking penalty. The Jets came close to scoring, but Conor Garland made a sweeping save to stop Kyle Connor from being able to shoot the puck into the yawning cage.
The Jets didn’t have to wait long for their next power play chance, though, as the Canucks were called for too many men on the ice. Again, Tolopilo and the Canucks’ PKers stood tall.
The Jets were all over the Canucks in the second period, and eventually, that translated into a goal as Gabe Vilardi battled with Elias Junior Pettersson at the net front and deflected the puck into the back of the net to tie this game up with a minute to go in the second.
2-2.
Some takeaways from the second:
-Despite the hooking penalty he took, there were some noticeable rushes for Nils Höglander in this period. He’s a player I’ll be curious to watch down the stretch. It’s basically been a lost season for him, so can he make something out of the final 25 games?
-He gets the assist on the faceoff win, but it was a pretty uninspiring first 40 minutes for Elias Pettersson. Same with his linemate Jake DeBrusk.

Third Period

With the two sides tied at two all, something had to give in the third.
Filip Hronek let fly a point shot that hit the crossbar, Nils Höglander tried to break in on a partial break against Luke Schenn, and Nikita Tolopilo made some sharp saves in the first ten minutes of the third.
The Canucks got their first power play of the game when Kyle Connor got his stick up on Drew O’Connor with eight minutes to go. The Canucks’ first power play unit featured Hronek, Pettersson, Rossi, DeBrusk, and Boeser. That group struggled to get set up. The second group — Buium, Willander, Garland, Karlsson, and Kane — managed to get set up, but their best chance, which came off the stick of Tom Willander, was stopped with relative ease. Still tied up.
Conor Garland had a couple great chances to end this game, but couldn’t convert. This one needed overtime!
Some takeaways from the third:
-Sure didn’t notice Linus Karlsson much tonight.
-The Öhgren-Blueger-Garland trio didn’t seem to skip a beat with the break. Liked a lot of things they did tonight.

Overtime

IT SHOULD BE FIVE ON FIVE! Sorry, that’s my new visceral reaction to seeing 3 on 3 OT. Not sure why.
The Canucks started with David Kampf, Brock Boeser, and Filip Hronek. Kampf won the draw, and Marco Rossi immediately hopped over the boards to replace him.
Rossi and Boeser moved in on a 2-on-1, and Boeser had a great chance to score on his birthday, but couldn’t beat Comrie. The Jets broke back the other way, and Cole Perfetti put the finishing touches on this one for the Jets.
3-2 final. 
Hard fought game from the home team. Good game for Nikita Tolopilo. Some things to like from various youngsters. You can absolutely live with games like this. 24 to go! But who’s counting?
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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