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Scenes from morning skate: Lankinen returns from Olympics, will backup Tolopilo for Canucks vs. Jets
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Feb 25, 2026, 15:30 ESTUpdated: Feb 25, 2026, 15:19 EST
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The Vancouver Canucks (18-33-6) resume their National Hockey League season tonight when they host the Winnipeg Jets (22-26-8) at Rogers Arena. Game time is set for 7 pm. 
The Canucks have 25 games remaining on their schedule, with 14 of those on home ice, where the Canucks are just 6-17-4 this season.

What we saw

The Canucks conducted a well-attended morning skate at Rogers Arena. Kevin Lankinen rejoined the team after being part of Finland’s bronze medal effort at the Olympics. While initially expected to take the night off, Lankinen will be in uniform tonight and will back up starter Nikita Tolopilo.
Adam Foote confirmed injured players Brock Boeser, Marco Rossi, and Zeev Buium will all be activated from IR and will play tonight. Boeser and Buium were both hurt in a January 25th game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and missed five games before the break. Meanwhile, Rossi has missed 18 games since sustaining a lower-body injury on December 30th against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 24-year-old Austrian has appeared in just eight games for the Canucks since being acquired from Minnesota in December.
Rossi and Boeser will start the night on a line with Drew O’Connor. Eilas Pettersson will line up between Jake DeBrusk and Evander Kane. Teddy Blueger will centre Conor Garland and Liam Ohgren, while David Kämpf will skate with Nils Höglander and Linus Karlsson.
Max Sasson, Aatu Räty and P-O Joseph will all be healthy scratches tonight.
As a refresher, the Canucks return to action tonight tied for 29th in offence and 32nd in the NHL in goals against per game. They are also 32nd on the penalty kill at 70.6%.
The Canucks are expected to honour the late Jim Robson during one of the intermissions at tonight’s game. The long-time radio and television voice of the hockey club passed away on February 10th at the age of 91.

The Opponent

The Jets dropped two straight and three of four heading into the Olympic break. They have won three of their last 10 games (3-4-3).
Olympic hero Connor Hellebuyck will not play tonight. Eric Comrie will get the start in goal while Dominic DiVincentiis, who has never played an NHL game, will dress as the backup. Comrie has won his last three starts, although he has not played a game since January 31st against the Florida Panthers. Defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was injured at the Olympics, has been placed on IR. 
Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with 27 goals and 68 points. Kyle Connor has 25 goals and 64 points. Gabe Vilardi has 21 goals to sit third on the team. They are the only three forwards on the roster with more than 20 points this season. Scheifele and Conor both carry five-game point streaks into action tonight.
Gustav Nyquist, once a 28-goal scorer in Detroit, has yet to score a goal in 35 games this season.
The Jets have dropped their last eight games decided beyond regulation time. That includes six games that ended in overtime and a pair of shootout losses. They are 2-8 beyond regulation time this season.

News and notes

This is the second meeting of the season between these teams. The Jets beat the Canucks 5-3 on Remembrance Day. The teams will meet for the third and final time in Winnipeg on March 7th.
The referees for tonight’s game are Mitch Dunning and Chris Schlenker.
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. Contribute to the live YouTube conversation with your thoughts on the game and support our charity partner – the BC Mental Health Foundation – with a Superchat. 
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