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Scenes from morning skate: Pettersson returns, Demko starts for Canucks vs. Sharks
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Dec 27, 2025, 15:15 ESTUpdated: Dec 27, 2025, 15:16 EST
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After a brief holiday break, the Vancouver Canucks (15-18-3) return to work tonight when they host the San Jose Sharks (17-17-3) at Rogers Arena. The game is set for a 7pm puck drop.
Tonight marks the home debuts of the three players – Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren and Zeev Buium – acquired from Minnesota in the December 12th trade for Quinn Hughes.

What we saw

Elias Pettersson returns to the lineup for the first time since December 5th. The Canucks top centre has missed eight games with an undisclosed upper body injury. Pettersson will skate on a line with Evander Kane and Kiefer Sherwood. Tonight will be his 500th NHL regular season game.
With Pettersson returning, Aatu Räty comes out of the lineup, while Nils Hoglander will sit out for a third straight game. 
Thatcher Demko starts for the sixth time in seven games since returning from injury. He is 13-0 lifetime against the Sharks. Demko allowed four goals in a 5-2 loss in Philadelphia in the team’s last game prior to the holiday break. Max Sasson and Drew O’Connor had the Canucks goals. Sasson has now scored in back-to-back games and has three goals in his last six outings, while O’Connor leads the team with eight goals since November 1st.
The Canucks have just one win in their last eight home games (1-6-1). They have also played the fewest home games in the league this season (15).
Filip Chytil was a surprise participant in the morning skate. The injured centre, out since October 19th, wore a red non-contact jersey and was an extra during drills. However, he did not look limited in any way. Head coach Adam Foote said he did not have updates on Teddy Blueger or Derek Forbort, Blueger was having a conversation with Marcus Pettersson in the Canucks’ locker room, while Forbort was in the team gym working out.

The Opponent

The Sharks are here for their first game since a 7-2 loss  in Vegas on Tuesday night. Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf scored the San Jose goals and former Canuck Tyler Toffoli had a pair of assists. Yaraslav Askarov allowed four goals on 16 shots before giving way to Alex Nedeljkovic. The Sharks fell behind 5-0 in the first 18:34.
San Jose has dropped three straight following a three-game win streak. The team’s last win came on December 16th against Calgary.
With NHL regulations preventing team travel on Boxing Day, the Sharks had an early flight from the Bay Area before taking to the ice for their 11:30am morning skate.
Celebrini is tied for third in the NHL behind only Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon with 55 points. The 19-year-old North Vancouver native has a team high 19 goals and also leads the club with 36 assists. Celebrini can become the fifth active player to score 20 goals in a season as a teenager prior to his 40th game; he would join Sidney Crosb, Steven Stamkos, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine. 
Will Smith is second on the Sharks in both goals (12) and points (29), however he is out week to week with an undisclosed injury. Toffoli is third in team scoring with 25 points.
No team in the league has allowed more goals on average than the Sharks who surrender 3.46 goals per game. And only St. Louis (129) has permitted more goals overall than San Jose (128) this season.

News and notes

The Sharks scored a pair on the power play in a 3-2 win over the Canucks on November 28th. The teams will meet two more times after tonight. San Jose will be back in Vancouver on January 27th while the Canucks will be the visitor in the Sharks home finale on April 11th.
The Canucks and Sharks are tied with Carolina and Pittsburgh for the fewest major penalties in the league this season (3).
The referees for tonight’s game are Chris Lee and Graham Skilliter.

What we heard

Adam Foote on what getting Elias Pettersson means to the hockey club: “He’s missed some time, probably more than we thought he was going to miss. But he’s back to tonight. That will really help us out. Thought it’s the first game, we don’t know where his legs will be. We probably played Marco (Rossi) too many minutes. It will be nice to have a little more balance there.”
Adam Foote on having Filip Chytil back on the ice with the group: “For him as an individual in his career it’s great to see. And to see a smile. That gives our group a lift. I sure felt good about seeing him out there. When I went to see him there was a lot of movement going on and he said ‘I feel so good’ and so I felt like that’s a good sign.”
Elias Pettersson also spoke to reporters following today’s morning skate, and touched on his injury, the Quinn Hughes trade, and more. You can watch that below, or read his quotes by clicking here.
Don’t forget to join Rink Wide Vancouver for full postgame coverage after this game – and every game. The livestream starts moments after the final buzzer. Rink Wide is the place for full postgame analysis and discussion. Join the live YouTube chat with your thoughts on the hockey game.
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