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A look inside the Canucks early-season penalty killing struggles

Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By Jeff Paterson

Oct 9, 2026, 16:02 EDT

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Let’s be honest, the Vancouver Canucks penalty kill has been a disaster to start the season. After getting torched for three on Thursday in Carolina and at least one in each of the five games so far, the PK has allowed a league-high eight goals on 19 opportunities and, at 57.9%, sits dead last in the National Hockey League, where it also finished last season.

Now there are some easy explanations, so let’s get those out of the way. The Canucks have faced Edmonton twice and the two Stanley Cup finalists from last season in the first week of the season. That’s no easy feat, and it’s shown.

The Canucks haven’t had nearly enough saves while shorthanded, and that has clearly shown, too.

And in the early stages of a rebuild, the hockey club is going through the process of identifying who can adequately kill penalties at the NHL level. And that will come with growing pains.

Add it all up, and it hasn’t been pretty. Here is a look at some of the underlying numbers with the team shorthanded, and it reveals a few surprises.

The usually rock-steady Filip Hronek leads all Canucks skaters in penalty killing ice time and has been on the ice for six of the eight goals the team has given up. While carrying a positive 5-on-5 goal differential in the early going (8-6), Hronek has been on the ice for more power play goals against than any other skater in the league so far. Defenceman Elias Pettersson has been on for five of the eight the Canucks have surrendered. Jamie Oleksiak, second only to Hronek in shorthanded ice time on the team, has been on the ice for three power play goals against.

On the flip side, Luke Schenn, spared from the tire fire of Thursday’s 7-2 loss to the Hurricanes as a healthy scratch, has not been on the ice for a power play goal against in the four games he has played. In fact, the Canucks have outscored their opponents 1-0 in Schenn’s shorthanded minutes, as he was on the ice for Paul Cotter’s season-opening goal on the penalty kill in Edmonton.

Up front, Drew O’Connor leads all Canucks forwards in shorthanded ice time (10:00) and has been on the ice for just one power play goal surrendered so far. While Elias Pettersson, who leads the team in points and hits, has also quietly been a PK ace, keeping opponents at bay to this point in his 8:24 of penalty killing duties. Those are both very positive developments for the Canucks, but O’Connor and Pettersson can’t kill every penalty on their own.

Cotter has been the fifth most-used forward on the kill and has been on the ice for one goal for and three against so far.

One of the issues has been developing young penalty killers. It’s a tough spot to learn on the job against some of the best players in the league, and that is playing out in real time for the Canucks.

Max Sasson is second among forwards with 9:09 of shorthanded ice time so far and has been on for half of the eight goals the Canucks have surrendered. Liam Öhgren is third among the team’s forwards with 8:33 on the penalty kill, and the Canucks have allowed three goals in those minutes. Arshdeep Bains has also been out for three of the goals surrendered in his 6:49 on the penalty kill, while Aatu Räty has been on the ice for a pair of power play goals against in just 1:19 while shorthanded.

As Manny Malhotra experiments with defensive pairs and forward duos and the team struggles on the PK in the early going, it’s somewhat surprising that Linus Karlsson has seen just seven seconds of shorthanded ice time. With his range, length, and ability to win board battles, Karlsson profiles as a player who might have some penalty killing utility.

When it comes to goaltending, that’s been a huge issue, too. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks expected goals against while shorthanded is 4.85, and the team has allowed eight. Kevin Lankinen, who got the hook for the second time in four starts on Thursday, has allowed six of the power play goals against, while Leevi Meriläinen has allowed the other two. Interestingly, Meriläinen has only allowed one 5-on-5 goal in his three appearances so far, but has been beaten for a pair on the power play. Boston has the highest xGA in the league while shorthanded at 4.93, but the Bruins have surrendered just three power play goals so far. Adding more context to the Canucks’ struggles, no other team in the league has allowed more than five power play goals through the first week of the season.

If there is good news for the Canucks’ beleaguered penalty killers, they face a New Jersey team on Saturday that is just 1-for-14 on the power play early. It will be interesting to see if the Canucks coaching staff tinkers with its penalty killing strategy or if it hopes that, with time, the players being deployed will better grasp the concepts they’re being taught.

Whatever the case, a 57.9% penalty kill is alarming for a young team that can’t afford to get sunk on special teams on a nightly basis.

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