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The Stanchies: Kane’s 10 shots on goal not enough as Canucks fall to Blackhawks
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Stanchion
Nov 6, 2025, 03:53 EST
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The Vancouver Canucks may have lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks, but at least it was an entertaining loss? Kind of? For a couple of periods at least?
I don’t want to say this game marks the official start of “moral victory” season, but if you wanted to, you could probably file away some silver linings from it.
The good? Evander Kane had around a billion shots in this game, although the NHL officially credited him with ten at the end of the day.
The Canucks offence through two periods, while not lethal, were at least generating chances? No one will claim Spencer Knight stole this game for Chicago, but it was probably the most exciting hockey Vancouver has played this year, just in terms of tempo and shot volume.
But when asked after the game if Knight played well or if it was a failure of execution from Vancouver, Hughes had a question of his own for David Quadrelli, in a passive mic drop for the ages:
“I mean, I didn’t see any insane saves, did you?”
Put me down for a Zara jacket with that written on the back. I think we might have something here.
But curtness and snark aside from what looks to be another season of grumpy media scrums from the Canucks captain, you could almost see how this game was going to end from streets away.
As anyone who has watched hockey (and this team in particular) knows, the second the buzzer sounded after two periods with no goals for Vancouver, you got that feeling in your chest. That injection of trepidation that floods through your body when you sense something bad is about to happen, when you just know an event comprised purely of contempt and derision for your happiness is waiting right around the corner for you.
So, was the third period breakdown unexpected? Of course not. In many ways, it was like visiting with an old friend. Sometimes it’s reassuring to have that level of stability in your life, just knowing you can count on certain things to happen; it’s your totem to let you know you aren’t dreaming. When the Canucks broke down in the third period after two periods in which it felt comical they didn’t get at least one goal on the board, at least I knew the wind outside wasn’t a slowed down Édith Piaf song.
Which brings us back to the age-old question of any game early on in an NHL season: What do you take away from this one?
And while we will probably pause the Jack Adams polls for Adam Foote for a game or two, I think the takeaway is that this team remains flawed. It still very much remains a team based on the “if everything goes right…” game plan.
And so even on a night in which they probably win this game nine times out of 10 in normal circumstances, it just feels like another building block of a season that is predicated, yet again, year after year, on the idea of “get in and see what happens?”
Which, after a decade plus of that, isn’t the easiest sell in this town.
Also, any game plan that ends with a question mark lacks conviction.
Just do it?
I’m lovin’ it?
Finger Licking’ good?
It just invites a lot of questions, that’s all I’m saying.
We have so many clips to get to, so let’s dive in.
Best chaotic start
Now that Rick Tocchet’s GOTI system is gone, I am starting to wonder if the Chaos Giraffe will appear more frequently.
Last game we saw Myers struggle to get the puck out of his own end multiple times, and he struggled with turnovers, so it wasn’t too surprising to see him continue that trend with an early pizza in this one:
I assume he was trying to get the puck to Lukas Reichel, but it’s also CG57, so for all I know, he was trying a multifaceted bank pass that involved a series of events my puny brain cannot even begin to comprehend.
Myers then followed that play up a shift later by chopping in the general direction of Connor Bedard, perhaps still angry at the Chicago forward for leaving his car in the driveway:
It’s not quite a 10/10 on the Carlo Colaiacovo jumping into your living rooms via the glass, but it was still a solid bump from the hometown kid.
Best go go power rangers
As stated in the intro, while it might not have been an ’80s Oilers-level of finish from Vancouver, it was still a fun pond hockey style of game for most of the night. Like, if you saw this game at Planet Ice, you would have thought it was solid action, despite the propane smell in the air from the leaky Zamboni.
Early on, you had the traditional “chance to score” from Arshdeep Bains, who continues to generate a rush on net every third game or so:
Then you had Jake DeBrusk trying some shots along with Brock Boeser:
I mean, I didn’t see any insane saves, did you? But at least the Canucks were winning the Corsi war and creating scoring chances on occasion. They were officially credited with 18 high danger chances on the night, although your mileage may vary on just how dangerous they were, especially using the “no insane saves spotted” measuring stick.
And while Chicago wasn’t producing nearly as much as Vancouver, they were still able to get good looks on Kevin Lankinen in the first period.
On this play, Oliver Moore sends the puck over to Ryan Donato, and you can see Drew O’Connor and PO Joseph both following the puck, while Aatu Räty has to scramble to close the distance, which allows Moore to sneak into the slot for a shot:
Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t think the Rick Tocchet GOTI system would have changed much for Vancouver this season, but I will give him credit for drilling into his players where they need to be on the ice. I think that’s one of the more noticeable differences on the season, there are more breakdowns in the defensive zone under Foote.
That, and we don’t get to hear a coach sighing heavily while discussing Andrei Kuzmenko. I kind of miss that.
But there have been many times this season where you see multiple Canuck players going after the same guy, which just opens up so much space in the defensive zone for the other team. The Canucks also get caught up puck watching at times, like in this clip where Ryan Green just sort of walks into the middle of the ice and gets off a quick one timer on Kevin Lankinen:
For their part, the Canucks kept out-shooting Chicago (eventually ending the game with the 45 to 28 edge), even if, yeah, Quinn Hughes wouldn’t describe this as an insane save on Linus Karlsson:
Maybe the bar is too low for me, but I’d rather a team generate shot volume than grind out a low shot loss. You clearly give yourself more chances to have the odds be ever in your favour if you’re at least getting the puck on net and forcing the goalie to make not-quite-insane saves. Sometimes those pucks go in off of the weirdest bounces, which can help even the weakest of tributes.
I just think we’ve seen enough “dump the puck in the corner, go for a line change” to last us a lifetime in this city, and we deserve to see shots on net, damn it.
Best bend don’t break
The Canucks dance with the injury bug looked like it might continue in this game when Aatu Räty collided with the boards while trying to fend off Oliver Moore:
The Finnish forward would return later in the period so I guess that’s a moral victory?
Is avoiding injury a moral victory at this point? Maybe?
Best Kane is able
Evander Kane probably could have had 20 shots in this game, one of which would have been on this play had he not shot the puck in the general direction of the Holdom skytrain station:
See, at least you can watch that and appreciate the rush chance the Canucks generated. Elias Pettersson busts out a deke, Hughes skates with the puck and dishes it off to Garland, taking the defenceman with him to give room to Conor, and it ends with Kane getting the puck in a good spot.
Yes, it ends with the Mason Raymond special of a missed shot leading to a breakaway for Connor Bedard, but I promise you, Kevin Lankinen made a save on that clip that ends mere microseconds before Bedard shoots the puck. I can even tell you Lankinen’s glove fell off in the process. It wasn’t an insane save, mind you, but it was solid.
That’s the thing about Evander Kane, though. The dude is a beer league player; he just happens to be one of the best beer league players in the world. Defensively, he’s not about that life, but offensively, he’s going to get shots on net all night long, and on occasion, bust out a nice between-the-legs dangle:
That is an incredible move by a very skilled player, but we all live in fear of what happens when the puck goes the other way. Kane gains 5 kmph to his stride when he’s trying for offence; that’s just how beer league works.
Near the end of the first period, Kane and Pettersson hooked up on a partial breakaway that resulted in yet another situation in which Quinn Hughes could probably be muttering about the lack of insane saves:
Kane and that beer league energy means he’s never in a hurry to get anything done, so his slight hesitation to send that puck to Elias Pettersson on a full-fledged breakaway. And as we know about EP40, the second he feels pressure on a breakaway, the first thought that races through his head appears to be “oh dear god, how do I get out of this situation without having to shoot?” In many ways, I imagine Elias relates to Jesse Pinkman.
And of course, there is a case to be made for making that pass; you don’t watch Henrik Sedin make a million passes like that without coming to appreciate passing out of a high danger shot in order to set up a teammate.
But we’re at the point where Elias just needs to start shooting. Imagine if EP40 had ended the night with 10 shots instead of Evander Kane? They’d probably be planning the parade downtown as we speak. Freshii would be handing out coupons for wraps no one ever buys, and we’d be applauding the effort from Pettersson.
Instead, we continue to see EP40 defy all odds by finding new ways to pass out of a shot, which, I have to tell you, is starting to feel a bit silly.
Best case of the zoomies
To the Canucks’ credit, they kept marching onwards, generating shot after shot, hoping one would find its way behind the Chicago goaltender.
Jake DeBrusk was the next player to attempt a goal, even though he’s due for another 10-game hibernation after scoring last game:
It might not have been an insane save, but you put 40+ of these types of shots on a goalie, you normally get at least a goal out of it. I do think luck was not on Vancouver’s side on this night. Probably because Crazy P scared it away, screaming in its face and demanding it cheer louder or else he would throw it down some stairs.
Best so bad he can taste it
I won’t lie, most of the excitement I get from watching Chicago play Vancouver is seeing how long they could prevent him from scoring on Rogers Arena ice. The kid can dance; he’s more talented than Grover at a handball tournament, on that we can all agree.
So when he’s out here almost beating four Canucks and scoring a goal, it’s not too surprising; you’re just hoping it doesn’t open the floodgates for years upon years of hometown torture via the Joe Sakic method:
Although I think Quinn Hughes saw that and took it personally, as he would end the period dingling his dangle in front of Bedard and almost scoring to end the period:
I appreciate Spencer Knight flopping to the ground to try and make it look like he made an insane save, but he’s not fooling Quinn on that one. It was merely decent. Average, even.
Best are you sure about that?
Lukas Reichel is just out here trying to get his first point as a Canuck, let alone a goal:
I am going to get ahead of this one and say that I don’t think we can consider Drew O’Connor or Lukas Reichel breakaways as high-danger scoring chances. We can all appreciate that top-tier pass to set up that breakaway from Quinn Hughes at least.
Though, how bad does that have to feel that you’re out here with a breakaway and your captain after the game is like “man, sure wish we made the other goalie have to make a tough save.”
Best tightening the screw
The Canucks best chance to score first on the night was during the second period, starting with Quinn Hughes rushing down the ice and ending with a shot that didn’t require insanity:
I think Hughes was looking to feed Brock Boeser, but Brock is what I would call a “methodical skater,” which is like telling someone they aren’t “traditionally handsome”, so Colton Dach is able to speed back down the ice and break up any chance of a pass.
The Canucks also had multiple looks during their power play where it felt like they were about to score, one of which was after Conor Garland broke the ankles of Frank Nazar:
I have to assume Elias Pettersson is trying to shoot-pass in the general area of Jake DeBrusk, which isn’t a bad play, mind you. Jake does his best work in the blue paint on the power play, and sometimes he does a delightful little shuffle dance with his hands after goals, and you can just picture him doing the same thing after opening up a really good pack of Pokémon cards.
But there has to be a world in which EP40 is walking into the middle of the ice to unload laser beams and not just slap passing his way through every scenario.
Still, the power play continued to generate looks on net. Conor Garland is the pick-six king on the Canucks, as he once again stole a pass and drove the puck hard towards the net:
If there was any save on the night that you have to give Knight his due on, it’s this one. I know Hughes would have preferred to see the Blackhawks goalie do a barrel roll into a scorpion save on this play, but much like Thatcher Demko, sometimes an amazing save looks far less exciting than it actually is. That’s a tough save, and Knight played it perfectly.
Which brings us back to Evander Kane continuing to pile up shots, this time driving to the slot and unloading a wrist shot:
And then near the very end of the power play hitting the post as he tried a cheeky little shot in close:
And then Kane once again in close, this time from Conor Garland who set up shop behind the net after once again intercepting the puck:
It’s a bang-bang play, and it certainly didn’t generate much of a save from Spencer Knight as he just stood his ground, but that last shot was the kind of play where, on most nights, if you keep generating chances like that, you end up scoring.
So while I agree with Quinn Hughes that execution wasn’t at the highest level, I still think the team was playing good hockey.
Go look back at the clip of Kane walking in from the slot on the power play; even getting the puck back to him was a slick setup from his teammates. There were two very well-played passes along the blue line that set up that chance in the first place, so yeah, I thought Vancouver probably deserved better on the night.
And I will say for all his beer league strategies, at least Kane is generating shots on net. It’s why I enjoyed Tyler Toffoli; sometimes you need that guy who is out there shooting for days, trying to score on every shot. Who cares if he comes back to the bench and grins at you and says “almost had him” on a dump-in from centre? I’ll take the shot volume injection in the lineup.
Best innovation
I suppose it was only a matter of time before Drew O’Connor found a new way to not score an NHL goal:
This was called off due to goalie interference, and while we could sit here and endlessly debate the call, I think it’s pretty apparent that the NHL is all vibes when deciding on plays like these. I’m more amazed the play wasn’t called dead when the puck was under Knight’s legs, to be honest.
But it was deemed that Calendar shoved Knight to the ground and was not pushed in, which, if this were a scene from Game of Thrones, would have ended in bloodshed in a future jousting tournament. But as this is real life, Drew merely skated back to his bench for a line change.
Best hello from the other side
Kevin Lankinen’s struggles on the season continued on this night, as his save percentage continues to plummet to playoff Dan Cloutier levels at times. He did have some good saves in this game, however, and I want to show proof of that because he could probably use a pick me up:
Kudos to Elias Pettersson, who initially tries to cover Quinn Hughes’ check before hoofing it back to get back into position on defence.
Later in the period, Lankinen utilized the “Do I have the puck? Oh sh!t, I don’t have the puck” pad stack save in which you slowly fall to your side as you grab at your five hole and pray that somehow the puck hits you:
There will probably be a solid debate for a while about what the right play was in the offseason with the goalies. And ultimately, it probably made the most sense to go with Demko and Silovs just due to contracts alone. I also saw the idea behind “Well, what if Demko breaks another unknown part of his body that nobody has ever heard of again?” insurance play of having Lankinen around, though.
Ultimately, I don’t think Silovs vs. Lankinen is the debate some people think it will turn out to be. I just don’t see either goalie ending up being a monster in this league, which just brings you back to “well yeah, they should have probably just paid one goalie a lot of money and gone with the cheap backup.”
I, of course, reserve the right to come back and claim this statement was made by AI should Silovs ever become a Vezina candidate.
Best never gonna happen
Again I don’t think this is a high danger chance, but at least it’s a shot on net from Reichel?
The guy does a lot of right things, but like a lot of guys on this team, it’s really starting to feel like we’re back in a sea of Granlunds.
Fun fact: only Max Sasson ended the night without a shot for the Vancouver Canucks.
Best careful what you say
With the game tied heading into the third, the Canucks breakdowns in their own zone started happening at a higher frequency than you were probably comfortable with.
Fortunately for Vancouver, it was old friend Ilya Mikheyev taking most of the shots early on:
Unfortunately for Vancouver, Chicago has their own blue paint specialist in Tyler Bertuzzi, who set up shop in Tim Horton’s and kind of but not quite kicked a puck into the net:
First off, that’s a fantastic play from Matt Grzelcyk. He skates around and gets the Canucks puck watching and finds Tyler Bertuzzi at the side of the net.
For his part, Tyler sort of brings his heels together, but it wasn’t enough to claim he made a kicking motion. In today’s NHL, unless you wind up and scream, “I’M HERE TO KICK PUCKS AND CHEW BUBBLE GUM AND I’M ALL OUT OF GUM,” they usually let it count.
This goal also brings up another point, though: Vancouver seems to get lost in their own zone when the other team has the puck. We saw it in the last handful of games: Canucks opponents start skating and looking for those back-door/side-of-the-net plays, and it usually results in a good scoring chance.
The structure of the Canucks in their own zone has been breaking down at an astronomical pace as of late whenever the other team starts skating with the puck in their zone.
Best I pick you
Tyler Myers was then called for interference on what was a pretty soft pick:
I think they call that because Myers skates a long distance out of his way to land that pick. The pick itself was whatever; it didn’t do much, and it was a pretty nothing forecheck situation to begin with, but it’s like if I walked into a bank screaming, “I don’t have a gun and I don’t intend on robbing you!” the police would most likely still have some questions. It was a not-so-subtle, subtle pick, which is very much on brand for the Chaos Giraffe.
The Canucks got the first big chance on the penalty kill; however, when Garland and Elias Pettersson started a counter-attack that ended in, and this might shock you, multiple times where neither guy got a shot on net:
Just when you thought EP40 optics of not shooting the puck couldn’t get worse, here we have Garland and EP40 seemingly fighting over who got to the guy who didn’t have to shoot the puck.
Again, I’m just at the point where Elias just needs to shoot from everywhere. Sit him down with Kane, teach him your ways, Evander. Unlock your inner bear league beauty, Elias. Just shoot. All day. Every day.
Puck in the corner? Shoot it.
Puck behind your net? Shoot it.
Puck in the refs hand? Chop at his hand and then shoot the puck.
Like, why not at this point? This team isn’t rife with finishing ability; you’re not out here setting up 40-goal scorers. Just shoot the puck.
Otherwise, you know what happens? You don’t force the goalie to make insane saves. And you know who doesn’t like that? Your captain.
This, of course, resulted in Tyler Bertuzzi scoring with the extra man a few seconds later on a very accurate backdoor pass from Bedard:
This time Tyler had the decency to use his stick to score the goal, but the end result was the same: this game was quickly slipping out of the hands of the Canucks.
Also, how much does this penalty kill miss Derek Forbort?
Best those were the days my friend
Chicago’s third goal was the result of the Canucks just sort of farting around in their own zone:
There is no structure there. There is no plan. It’s just a team reeling from letting in two goals in a game they should have been winning, losing the mental game with themselves.
Best regrets
Tyler Bertuzzi would then complete the hat trick after a bad rebound from Kevin Lankinen combined with Tyler Myers rolling around like he somehow caught fire:
From thinking they should be winning the game to being down 4-0, this one changed on a dime.
Best every time
Thanks to Mark turning off the TV, there were three more goals in this game. But unlike that magical comeback against the Dallas Stars, this was merely scoring in junk time.
First up, Räty got a nice goal off the rush for Vancouver:
You’ll notice how it was just a random shot from the middle of the ice, much like many of the other shots they got on the night. This is what I’m saying, most nights they get a couple of those goals just on shot volume alone.
Then Evander Kane, he of 10 shots, finally got one through:
Which, again, through the first two periods, these were the kinds of chances they generated. Knight doesn’t have to make an insane save there, even if he were to stop it. The Canucks are just putting on volume and trying to score. This is why I give them credit for the first two periods because this is a team that has struggled to do even that at times. It’s not like the Canucks just busted out two highly skilled goals in the last few minutes. All they did was keep shooting and waiting for Knight to let one in.
But the comeback was stopped there, and even worse, Bedard finally got his first goal on Vancouver ice:
That’s an empty net goal, so how good can that feel, really, but the end point remains: Chicago won the hockey game.
Up next a double tap of Columbus and Colorado on the weekend.

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