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Instant Reaction: Canucks give up four unanswered goals in 4-2 loss to Lightning

Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

By David Quadrelli

Oct 17, 2026, 18:41 EDTUpdated: Oct 17, 2026, 19:01 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!

Lineup

DeBrusk – EP40 – Lekkerimäki
Cotter – Chytil – Boeser
Öhgren – O’Connor – Karlsson
Bains – Sasson – Gallagher

EP25 – Hronek
Oleksiak – Willander
Buium – Mancini

No Marco Rossi for this one, as he was feeling under the weather. Kevin Lankinen gets the start in goal.

First Period

It was all Tampa Bay to start this game. For the first five or so minutes, the Lightning were stacking shifts on the Canucks and had the ice very firmly tilted in their favour. Kevin Lankinen had to be sharp, and he was.

He made a number of five-alarm saves, and his best came with just over 10 minutes remaining when he sprawled to rob Jake Guentzel on a 2-on-1:

Kevin Lankinen has been very, very good to start this game. What a save. #Canucks

— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T20:25:31.282Z

The Canucks got their legs under them a bit after that. Off a defensive zone draw with just under seven minutes remaining, Nikita Kucherov tripped up Jonathan Lekkerimäki, giving the Canucks the game’s first power play.

The next two minutes weren’t great, as the Canucks not only didn’t get set up, but were also on the wrong side of a game of keepaway as Tampa Bay killed off the penalty without much trouble. But as the penalty came to an end? That was great. Paul Cotter beat Jake Guentzel to a loose puck and swept a pass back to Linus Karlsson, who let go of a slap shot that beat Dennis Hildeby clean from distance.

Vancouver goal!Scored by Linus Karlsson with 04:28 left in the 1st. Assisted by Paul Cotter and Filip Chytil.TBL: 0 | VAN: 1#VANvsTBL #GoBolts #Canucks

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T20:51:36.705233Z

1-0 Canucks.

We’ve talked a lot about Leevi Meriläinen making key saves that swing the momentum in his team’s favour, but today, it was Kevin Lankinen’s turn to do that.

Canucks found themselves up by a goal after 20 minutes of play with the shots reading 11-7 in favour of Tampa.

Some takeaways from the first:
-As noted, nice saves from Lankinen in that period, but what impressed me was the calm feet and how few wasted movements the Canucks goaltender had while making those saves. This was especially useful on the multiple deflection shots and chances through traffic that Lankinen faced.
-A couple of nice, clean zone exits and dump-ins from Zeev Buium in that period. Baby steps, of course, but nice to see him transport the puck with some confidence.
-Five high-danger chances for the Lightning after 20 minutes of play, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Second Period

The Canucks got their second power play chance of the game early into the second period when Brayden Point tripped up Jonathan Lekkerimäki. This one went a lot better than the first one. The Canucks got set up quickly, snapped the puck around, and set up some chances for their triggermen. They really took advantage when Ryan McDonagh lost his stick. Elias Pettersson buried a quick shot from a tough angle to push the Canucks’ lead to two.

Power play goal for Vancouver!Scored by Elias Pettersson with 15:25 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Brock Boeser.TBL: 0 | VAN: 2#VANvsTBL #GoBolts #Canucks

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T21:21:35.210054Z

2-0 Canucks.

Liam Öhgren took an offensive zone hooking penalty below the Tampa Bay goal line — the kind of penalty coaches and fans alike absolutely hate to see.

On the Tampa Bay power play, Kevin Lankinen made another ridiculous save off Nikita Kucherov with his glove, but on the rebound, Kucherov made no mistake in burying his chance.

Power play goal for Tampa Bay!Scored by Nikita Kucherov with 13:30 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel.TBL: 1 | VAN: 2#VANvsTBL #GoBolts #Canucks

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T21:22:21.070071Z

Imagine if Lankinen made the pad-stack windmill save there. 2-1.

It didn’t take all that long for Nikita Kucherov to score again.

After Point beat Elias Pettersson cleanly in the faceoff dot to the right of Lankinen, Kucherov snapped a shot cleanly past the Canucks’ goaltender in the blink of an eye.

Tampa Bay goal!Scored by Nikita Kucherov with 08:37 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Brayden Point.TBL: 2 | VAN: 2#VANvsTBL #GoBolts #Canucks

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T21:32:23.095318Z

2-2.

This one was tied heading into the third.

Some takeaways from the second:
-Elite players like Kucherov are such a treat to watch.
-Another game where I thought Tom Willander stood out.

Third Period

Two minutes into the third, the Lightning took their first lead of the night when Jake Guentzel let go of a point shot that deflected off Liam Öhgren’s stick and over Kevin Lankinen.

Tampa Bay goal!Scored by Jake Guentzel with 17:56 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Charle-Edouard D'Astous and Brayden Point.TBL: 3 | VAN: 2#VANvsTBL #GoBolts #Canucks

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T22:11:37.285855Z

3-2 Tampa Bay.

The two sides played 4-on-4 shortly after as Brendan Gallagher mixed it up with Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel in the neutral zone after Gallagher finished his check on Guentzel. Gallagher and Hedman were pulled out of the pile.

We got a heavy dose of Linus Karlsson on the top line in the third, starting with the 4-on-4 action when Karlsson and Elias Pettersson, the two Canucks goal scorers, were out together.

The Canucks were battling for a goal, but the Lightning were putting on a masterclass of closing out a game. Tampa Bay nearly jumped out to a two-goal lead with under five minutes remaining when they had a wide open net to shoot at after Lankinen sprawled out, but Filip Hronek made a huge save behind the Canucks goaltender.

The Lightning kept pressing, however, and Pontus Holmberg got moving after a Canucks faceoff win, driving to the middle of the ice and sliding the puck through Kevin Lankinen’s legs.

Tampa Bay goal!Scored by Pontus Holmberg with 04:03 left in the 3rd.TBL: 4 | VAN: 2#VANvsTBL #GoBolts #Canucks

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-17T22:41:37.460136Z

4-2.

The Canucks’ closest call at chipping into the lead late came when Drew O’Connor scored on what might be the highest high stick I’ve ever seen. Also the easiest wave off I’ve ever seen, nobody even tried to pretend like that one might count.

4-2 Tampa final.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

And be sure to tune into tonight’s episode of Rink Wide LIVE on YouTube moments after the final horn! Check out our live programming button in the top right of our website for easy access!

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