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Instant Reaction: Canucks crash and burn in 5-2 loss to Flames
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Photo credit: © Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
Lachlan Irvine
Nov 23, 2025, 23:38 ESTUpdated: Nov 24, 2025, 01:59 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

Fil Hronek – who clearly read Daniel Wagner’s first article for CanucksArmy – got things going by activating on a 2-on-1 with Evander Kane. When Kevin Bahl started sliding to take his passing lane away, Hronek stopped up for a toe drag before wiring the puck past Dustin Wolf.
1-0 Canucks.
The Flames wouldn’t take too long to respond with… well, flames. Midway through the second, Rasmus Andersson practically stole the Canucks’ playbook when he threw a puck through the hashmarks for Morgan Frost to redirect past Kevin Lankinen.
1-1 Flames.
Then, just 35 seconds later, the Flames regained the zone, and Blake Coleman put a weak shot on net. Before it could get there, Mikael Backlund got inside positioning to whack the puck at Lankinen’s pad, and the rebound popped out to Connor Zary for his first goal since opening night against these same Canucks.
2-1 Flames.
Takeaways from the first:
  • Quinn Hughes has already played nearly TEN(!) minutes. He is not human.
  • Jake DeBrusk just can’t buy a goal on Dustin Wolf so far, but he’s also looked the most dangerous. Let’s see if he can find his finish.
  • The Canucks should be able to beat these Flames, but they need their put their stamp on the power play opportunities they get. Two have already gone by with no dice, you might not get many more.

Second Period

The second period was when the mid-off really began. Through the first 10 minutes, neither team could muster more than three shots on goal.
But then the Flames finally broke through again after the halfway mark. After some sustained pressure in the Canucks zone, a Kevin Bahl shot from distance banked off of Tom Willander’s skate near the crease and into the net.
3-1 Flames.
Then finally, before the second period drew to a close, another shot from distance got stopped by Lankinen in front. Yegor Sharangovich knocked the rebound out of midair and into the net.
If this game is supposed to be a joke, nobody’s laughing.
4-1 Flames.
Takeaways from the second:
  • There were lots of bad passes from both teams in this period. There was one shift where I swear both teams combined for five consecutive turnovers.
  • Right after the Flames 3-1 goal, Evander Kane got himself thrown in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct because he wouldn’t stop talking. Way to help the team, dude.
  • The Goldeneyes and the Whitecaps are in the building tonight! It’s really nice of the city’s big clubs to show up and support.
  • Gavin McKenna would look really cool in a Canucks jersey.

Third Period

The third period was an absolute slog and a half, between one team that knew they were about to win and another that knew they weren’t.
The Flames got some insurance on a Canucks power play (yes, you read that correctly) when Brock Boeser made a rare giveaway to Backlund, who found Blake Coleman streaking through the middle for a deflected shot through Kevin Lankinen.
5-1 Flames.
It was going to take a Herculean effort to get the Canucks out of this hole. The closest they came was a fantastic Quinn Hughes end-to-end rush, where he single-handedly got through the whole Flames lineup and beat Dustin Wolf shortside on his own rebound.
5-2 Flames.
The Canucks pulled Lankinen with just under five minutes left to try to cut the deficit. The good news is they didn’t allow any extra Calgary goals. The bad news is that they also didn’t score any themselves.
Takeaways from the third:
  • Filip Hronek’s great play has been one of the few bright spots. He’s basically the duct tape holding the hull of the Titanic together, and that continued tonight.
  • David Kämpf played in this game… reportedly. I genuinely didn’t notice him make a play once, and he’s the second line centre.
If Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars was one of the Canucks’ best efforts, this one against the second-last team in the league that played in Calgary the night before was easily one of their worst. There’s nothing good to glean from this game. The only true takeaway here is that it might be time to pull the plug on this team.
What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below, and be sure to read Wyatt’s Stanchies later on tonight!

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