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Instant Reaction: Canucks can’t get on the board in 4-0 loss to Kings
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Tyson Cole
Mar 27, 2026, 00:34 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!

Starting lineup

First period

This game started off about how you’d figure a 32nd-place Canucks team to play against the typically uneventful Kings.
Zeev Buium and Tom Willander each had a defensive turnover, but then quickly made up for it. Buium made some strong moves in tight spaces to get around Kings forecheckers and clear the zone, while Willander made a really strong backcheck to intercept a pass to Quinton Byfield, which would have sprung him on the breakaway. Watching these two try things out on the ice, not be discouraged when it doesn’t work out, and later make the right play is the type of progression you want to see from these kids.
Luckily for the loyal fans in Rogers Arena, things started to pick up.
Back in the lineup, Nils Höglander had one of the strongest shifts of his season. While he did overplay his positioning when Aatu Räty shuffled the puck around the boards, Höglander received the puck, made a nice move to cut to the middle of the ice, but had his shot attempt blocked by Jared Wright. He stuck with the play and fired a pass through traffic from the left side of the net to Filip Hronek on the right point for another chance on net.
Then, Teddy Blueger’s line hopped over the boards, and they got back to work in the offensive zone. Jake DeBrusk takes a wrist shot from the point, and Linus Karlsson whacks the puck off Joel Edmundson’s stick, which is left on a tee for Blueger to fire a quick shot on net, but couldn’t beat Darcy Kuemper.
Later in the period, Buium was in a battle with Artemi Panarin low in the zone, and got beaten. In an effort to slow him down, Buium was booked with a holding the stick penalty. On the ensuing power play, NHL Trade Deadline acquisition Scott Laughton tipped home a Quinton Byfield shot to open the scoring.
1-0 Kings.
Shortly after, Panarin was at it again, as he drew a tripping penalty in the neutral zone when Drew O’Connor stuck his stick out in his path. The Kings had a few chances, but walked into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead, and 23 seconds more power play time to start the second.

Second period

While the Kings didn’t score on their remaining power play, they converted a minute after the penalty was over.
Entering the zone with speed off the rush, Byfield fires a low shot off Lankinen’s pad. Laferriere wins the race to the puck and sends it to the point. Mikey Anderson sends a shot toward the net, and Trevor Moore tips the puck out of the air and behind Lankinen.
2-0 Kings.
This goal gave the Kings all of the momentum. It was pure dominance by the Kings, as they went on to outshoot the Canucks 17-5 in the middle frame.
A couple of plays to highlight from the period.
  • As second periods go for the Canucks, they had a bad line change, which sprung Byfield on a breakaway after Kuemper came far out of his net to play the puck and spring his centreman.
  • Shortly after, Byfield had another chance on net that beat Lankinen, but did not get past the crossbar.
  • Drew Doughty had a pair of shots from distance, but Lankinen continued to stand tall.
  • Lankinen stood tall while being peppered to keep his team within two goals.
3-0 Kings.
Sprinkled in the big push from the Kings, Evander Kane generated speed and made a strong power forward toward the net, which drew a hooking penalty on Byfield. The Canucks did not score on the ensuing power play. And Pettersson did his dekes through the Kings defenders, but waited too long to feed the pass over to O’Connor, and the play died on his stick.
But unfortunately, Lankinen could only hold the Kings back for so long.
DeBrusk loses the puck in the neutral zone by that pesky LAK neutral zone swarm attack. Elias Pettersson (D) was pinching up, hoping to receive a pass to spring him through the neutral zone, so he was out of position, leaving Marcus Pettersson all alone to defend the two-on-one.
The Canucks allow another two goals in the second period, a period that has caused them trouble all season.

Third period

The Canucks started the third period well, getting their fair share of looks. However, they were able to get their shots on net. Nils Höglander, Evander Kane, Max Sasson, Aatu Räty, Filip Hronek, Jake DeBrusk, and Linus Karlsson all either missed or had their shot attempts blocked before Elias Pettersson registered the first of the period, eight minutes into the period.
Joel Armia took a two-minute hooking penalty, drawn by Elias Pettersson. And while they had looks, including a nice feed from Pettersson to DeBrusk, they also did not even register a shot attempt with the man advantage.
The Kings really took their foot off the gas in the third period and shut it down, as a team striving for the playoffs should, with a sizable lead.
Adam Foote made an early goalie pull with over five minutes remaining. The Canucks set up briefly, but most of the following two-and-a-half minutes were controlled by the Kings, just continuously missing opportunities at the empty net. We even saw Kuemper attempt to flick the puck over the Canucks defenders and into the net, but Buium caught it.
Eventually, Byfield managed to find the empty net from outside the Canucks blueline to put the game away.
4-0 Kings.
While the Canucks did not find a way to electrify the home crowd with a goal, young defencemen Buium dropped the gloves with fellow young defenceman Brandt Clarke, putting their fight club practice to good use.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

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