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Instant Reaction: Canucks battle hard in 6-4 loss to Hurricanes as Hronek, Pettersson, and Rossi record multi-point games
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
David Quadrelli
Mar 5, 2026, 00:43 ESTUpdated: Mar 5, 2026, 00:55 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

First Period

It was a less-than-ideal start for the Canucks, who gave up a chance and took a tripping penalty (courtesy of David Kampf) 27 seconds into the game.
And less than a minute into that power play, the Hurricanes opened the scoring in this one.
1-0 Carolina.
Did you know the Canucks had scored first in five straight home games? When Shorty said that on the broadcast, I had to rewind it to make sure I heard it right.
The shots after 12 minutes of play? 12-1 for Carolina. And the Canucks’ one shot? An innocent 150-foot dump-in that found its way to the Carolina goal.
But that 13 minute mark? It saw the Canucks’ first real shot of the game, and it was a good one. The Elias Pettersson line helped the Canucks get their first taste of zone time of hte night, and Zeev Buium blasted a shot on goal that Brandon Bussi had trouble with. Buium then looked to find a teammate for a backdoor chance, but
Shortly after that, Liam Ohgren moved in on a 2-on-1 with Brock Boeser, and nearly set up Boeser for a goal after making a deceptive move before sliding the puck across to Boeser, who couldn’t make solid contact.
It was a dreadful start, and sure, part of it was likely because the Hurricanes took their foot off the gas a bit, but it was still nice to see the Canucks create some real offensive chances. Just let me have this.
The Canucks got their first power play of the game with four minutes left in the first after Linus Karlsson drew an interference penalty. On the power play, the Canucks won the draw, snapped the puck around, and Marco Rossi’s centring pass for Brock Boeser deflected off a Carolina defender and into the back of the net to get the Canucks on the board.
1-1. 
And you’re not going to believe this, but less than a minute later, the Canucks scored again. This time, Linus Karlsson did great to transport the puck up the ice and into the Carolina end. Karlsson followed that up with some solid play along the wall, and eventually the puck made its way back to Filip Hronek, who blasted home a slap shot to put the Canucks up by a goal.
2-1
Their shots were limited, and while they did come close to scoring a couple of times, the Canucks trailed by a goal.
Some more takeaways from tonight:
-It took way too long for the Canucks to shake up the lines, but I liked the look of Liam Ohgren with Marco Rossi and Brock Boeser.
-Nils Höglander had a promising foray toward the net halfway through the first, but his shot attempt got blocked. Yes, this is noteworthy. He started the year so strongly in both training camp and the preseason, and it’s an absolute shame his season has been so heavily affected by the injury he suffered during a preseason game.
-Buium had some swagger in that first period. Nice.
-That is the kind of period you want to see from Linus Karlsson.

Second Period

Well it was fun while it lasted!
Under three minutes into the second, Sean Walker pounced on a loose puck and fired it through traffic to quickly negate the Canucks’ lead.
2-2.
And less than two minutes after that, Nikolaj Ehlers ripped a shot and caught Kevin Lankinen too deep in his crease.
3-2 Canes. 
The Canucks got another power play chance shortly after, and while they didn’t score, Elias Pettersson did record a shot on goal. So jot that down.
With eight minutes left in the second, Sebastian Aho sifted through the Vancouver defence (Mancini and M. Pettersson) and backhanded a shot over Lankinen’s glove to make it 4-2.
In came Nikita Tolopilo in relief of Lankinen.
Annnndddd the first shot he faced beat him. To be fair to Tolopilo, Nikolaj Ehlers can absolutely rip the puck. Seriously, that’s an absurd shot.
5-2. 
Remember how fun the first period was?
The Canucks got a late power play opportunity — their third of the night — and off the faceoff, Marco Rossi was tripped up, and the Cnaucks had an extended 5-on-3 as a result.
Elias Pettersson won another draw, and after Marco Rossi and Filip Hronek played catch a few times before Rossi fed Boeser at the netfront. Number six in blue made no mistake.
5-3.
Boeser nearly added another in the dying moments of the second. Eight goals through 40 minutes? You can’t really say this one wasn’t entertaining…

Third Period

The Canucks began the third on the power play again, but couldn’t convert.
David Kampf made a great sweeping goal line save off of Jordan Staal, and with it, his price at the Trade Deadline undoubtedly went up.
Just shy of the seven minute mark, Elias Pettersson ripped a shot off the rush that broke the Carolina defender’s stick, and right after, Pettersson slid the puck over to Nils Höglander, who deposited his first goal of the season.
There’s not much to cheer about these days, but seeing Höglander score… that’s worth cheering about. That’s a 3 point game for Filip Hronek, for those keeping track at home. Two points for EP40.
5-4 Carolina.
Another stat I want to shout out: Brock Boeser had six hits tonight. We criticized them for going without a whimper against the Dallas Stars, so it’s important we make mention of the Canucks putting in an effort like this one even with the odds stacked against them.
The Canucks cranked up the pressure on the Hurricanes late, and were not going away quietly. Boeser had a nice look, and Elias Pettersson was continuing the best game we’ve seen from him in a while. Unfortunately, with two minutes left, Teddy Blueger hit Andrei Svechnikov from behind into the boards, and headed off to the box, putting the Canucks shorthanded to close this game out. The Canucks pulled Tolopilo in the final minute, but could not tie this one up.
Entertaining game!
Final takeaways:
-Marco Rossi’s best game as a Canuck.
-Pettersson dug in. Finally.
-Canucks will have no problem selling the fanbase on more games like this one. And on the same day they made a great rebuilding move as well…
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!
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