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Scenes from morning skate: Tolopilo starts, Bains returns to lineup for Canucks vs. Ducks
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Photo credit: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Nov 26, 2025, 15:02 EST
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The Vancouver Canucks (9-12-2) are out to snap a three-game losing streak as they face off against the Anaheim Ducks (14-7-2) at Honda Center.
It’s the start of a four-game road trip that will also take them to San Jose, Los Angeles and Colorado.

What we know

Amid all kinds of trade talk and speculation about the direction of the hockey club, the players have to find a way to focus. The Canucks dropped a 5-2 decision to the Calgary Flames in their last game on Sunday night. Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes each scored their second goals of the season. The team has now dropped six of its last seven outings (1-4-2).
On Tuesday morning, the Canucks announced that Kevin Lankinen did not travel with the team due to a personal reason. That leaves the club with Abbotsford call-ups Nikita Tolopilo and Jiri Patera as its goaltending tandem. Combined, those two have nine career NHL starts, and Patera is the only one to play in the NHL this season. He allowed seven goals on 40 shots in an 8-5 loss to the Florida Panthers last week. Tolopilo will make his NHL season debut tonight. He made one start and appeared in two games late last season.
The only other lineup change appears to be Arshdeep Bains returning to action after being a healthy scratch for the past five games. Tonight will be the 40th game of Bains’ NHL career. Lukas Reichel will be the odd man out and will not dress for a third straight game.
Jake DeBrusk rides a four-game point streak into action tonight (2+2). The Canucks power play has risen to eighth in the NHL (23.4%) by scoring at least once in seven straight games. At the other end of the spectrum, however, Evander Kane has gone eight games without a goal while Brock Boeser has gone five without scoring. 

The Opponent

The Ducks have been idle since a 4-3 overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Cutter Gauthier’s team-leading 13th goal was the game-winner. Troy Terry, Olen Zellweger and Jackson Lacombe scored their others. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves for his 11th win of the season. This morning, the Ducks announced Dostal is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Veteran Petr Mrazek will get the start tonight while Ville Husso has been recalled from AHL San Diego.
Leo Carlsson had an assist and leads the Ducks with 29 points. Gauthier has 26 points, and Terry has 25. Along with Colorado, Anaheim is the only other team in the league with three 25-point getters. Overall, Anaheim is second in the NHL in goals scored per game (3.59).
Gauthier is second in the NHL with 97 shots on goal and has already opened a 42-shot lead on Carlsson, who is a distant second on the team. Against Vegas on Saturday, the 21-year-old scored his OT goal on his sixth shot and 14th attempt of the night.
The Ducks are 8-2 on home ice this season and have won seven of their last eight in front of their home fans. Their eight wins are tied for the league lead. Anaheim has outscored opponents 38-25 in its 10 home games so far this season.
Joel Quenneville’s club is 8-0 this season, when opening the scoring and 6-0 when leading after the first period.
The Ducks have 11 players on their active roster born in 2000 or later. According to the league, they are the sixth-youngest team in the NHL.

News and notes

The Canucks and Ducks will meet three more times this season, but not again until the New Year. Anaheim will be in Vancouver on January 29th and March 24th, while the Canucks will return to Orange County for an April 12th game. Both California road trips for the Canucks this season have San Jose as the middle stop, meaning additional travel between games within the Golden State.
Last season, the Canucks went 3-1 against the Ducks and have won nine of the last head-to-head meetings. 
The referees for tonight’s game are Garrett Rank and Cody Beach.
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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