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Scenes from Canucks practice: Willander gets top power play unit shot; Buium paired with Hronek
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Jan 5, 2026, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 5, 2026, 15:21 EST
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After a travel day on Sunday, the Vancouver Canucks hit the ice at Key Bank Arena in Buffalo on Monday afternoon as the team prepares for the opener of a six-game road trip on Tuesday, which will kick off the second half of the team’s schedule.
While the Canucks fell 3-2 in overtime to Boston in their last game on Saturday, based on practice lines and defensive pairings, it seems the coaching staff liked what they saw against the Bruins.
The trio of Elias Pettersson-Jake DeBrusk and Linus Karlsson was dominant on Saturday with the Canucks controlling all 16 shot attempts and all 10 shots on goal at 5-on-5. The line also contributed the first Canucks goal on the night with Pettersson netting his 10th of the season in the first minute of the second period. So no surprise that line was back together at practice on Monday.
In three games since his healthy scratch last Monday in Seattle, Jake DeBrusk has 15 shots on goal on 28 attempts. He hit a post vs Philadelphia, had his first multipoint game of the season on Friday with a goal and two assists against the Kraken and on Saturday against Boston had seven shots on 13 attempts. The shot attempts at 5-on-5 with DeBrusk on the ice were 22-0 vs the Bruins and the scoring chances were 17-0.
Evander Kane was benched for the final 9:33 of the third period and all of overtime, but the veteran winger was back in a top-six role at Monday’s practice, skating alongside Max Sasson and Brock Boeser. Kane has gone eight games without a goal and has just one in his last 14 games.
David Kämpf was at centre between Drew O’Connor and Kiefer Sherwood, while Aatu Räty was in the middle on a line with Liam Öhgren and Nils Höglander. Arshdeep Bains skated as the lone extra healthy forward while Filip Chytil participated in a red non-contact jersey. Teddy Blueger, who is also injured, travelled with the hockey club but did not skate with the group today.
On defence, the Canucks had Tom Willander paired with Marcus Pettersson while Zeev Buium skated with Filip Hronek. One change from Saturday saw P-O Joseph playing with Tyler Myers while Elias Pettersson was the odd man out. Pettersson played just 10:07 on Saturday night – his lowest ice time in six weeks.
On special teams, the Canucks had Willander manning the point on the top unit of the power play while Buium and Hronek were together on the second unit.
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