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Instant Reaction: Canucks fall 3-1 to Blues in low-event affair
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Photo credit: © Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
David Quadrelli
Mar 21, 2026, 21:37 EDTUpdated: Mar 21, 2026, 21:38 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

Spoiler alert: There wasn’t much action in this first period.
What there was though, was Curtis Douglas blocking a shot, getting in on the forecheck, and throwing a hit on Philip Broberg — all in the same shift.
The Canucks got their first power play chance of the game just under five minutes in, and while they didn’t score, they did control the zone and get some decent looks off on Jordan Binnington. Brock Boeser had their best chance, and Filip Hronek made something out of nothing, but they still didn’t score.
Later, Kevin Lankinen took a tripping penalty. The Canucks killed this one off without much issue, it’s just always fun to note when goalies take minor penalties.
The final 10 minutes of the first period were an absolute snooze fest, with countless plays dying in the neutral zone and possession changing constantly without shot attempts.
Surely the second will be better!

Second Period

The Blues thought they took the lead just over five minutes into the second, but the goal was immediately waved off, and St. Louis didn’t disagree. The low-event nature of the first period was continuing into the second.
Eventually though, St. Louis got the game’s first goal after Filip Hronek couldn’t move the puck all the way up the wall and out of the Canucks’ end, leading to the Blues keeping the puck in the offensive zone. And after another keep at the St. Louis line, the Blues worked the puck down low to a wide-open Robert Thomas after Linus Karlsson and DPetey both chased a man into the corner. Lankinen made the first save, but former Canuck Pius Suter banged home the rebound to open the scoring:
Shortly after, the Blues struck again. On this goal, Brock Boeser didn’t see the seam pass coming, and Kevin Lankinen seemed to catch an edge? That’s a tough one.
2-0 Blues. 
And in the final minutes of the second, Hronek failed to flip a puck out of the Canucks’ zone, leading to Jimmy Snuggerud batting the puck out of the air, allowing Dylan Holloway to bury the loose change. The Canucks challenged that Snuggerud high-sticked the puck, however, and the goal was called back.
That’s two goals waved off for the Blues (one by a coach’s challenge)!
The Canucks may have dodged a bullet there, but they were being absolutely dominated through 40 minutes of play. As my colleague Thomas Drance put it:
Side note: Kevin Lankinen had some very nice saves in this game. Prior to the game against Tampa, he had strung together three straight starts with a save percentage above .900. And when you consider how badly he was hung out to dry against the Lightning (and tonight, for that matter), Lankinen is starting to look more and more like the player the Canucks signed to that extension.

Third Period

Marco Rossi took a hit to make a play at the St. Louis blue line, sweeping the puck to Nils Höglander, who moved in on an aggressive Jordan Binnington and tried to slap the puck past him. Binnington managed to squeeze the puck and hold on as the Canucks continued to battle.
After that, the Canucks actually started to possess the puck a bit, and Zeev Buium nearly led a successful end-to-end rush that would have gotten the Canucks on the board. At the 7:30 mark of the third, Jake Neighbours interfered with Elias Pettersson, giving the Canucks their second chance of the night to work on the man advantage.
The Canucks went with a look on PP1 with Jake DeBrusk on the right half wall as a one-time option, with Elias Pettersson in the bumper. I really didn’t like that. But before I could even finish writing that sentence, the two players swapped spots. The Canucks got on the board and cut the St. Louis lead in half after Elias Pettersson passed to Filip Hronek, who blasted a shot from the point that deflected off a Blues player and in behind Binnington.
2-1. 
13 points in his last nine games, and 10 points on his current five game point streak for Marco Rossi, who picked up the secondary assist on that goal.
Buium was feeling it as the Canucks hunted for a goal late. First, he shimmied at the line to lose his man, then after dishing off and reloading, he activated down the boards once again, won two consecutive board battles. On the same shift, Buium made a great between-the-legs pass to Liam Öhgren, who tried to find Brock Boeser for a cross-crease tap-in. That was certainly one of the best shifts we’ve seen from Buium, who as of today’s game, has officially played more games as a Vancouver Canuck than he did as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
Filip Hronek took a late cross-checking penalty, and with the Canucks shorthanded, they pulled their goaltender and the Blues promptly buried the empty netter to put the finishing touches on this one.
3-1 Blues final.
If you haven’t read the quotes from Zeev Buium in an interview with our own Tyson Cole yet, I strongly urge you to do so. Buium talked a lot about not getting bogged down when things don’t go the young Canucks’ way, and that might be a good reminder for fans, too, as we embark on this rebuild. Read it by clicking here. Was it a coincidence that Buium looked as impressive as he did in the third period just a day after
What are your thoughts on tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

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