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The Stanchies: Linus Karlsson shines in high-scoring affair with Mammoth
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Stanchion
Apr 5, 2026, 00:57 EDTUpdated: Apr 5, 2026, 02:16 EDT
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Thanks to the Vancouver Canucks locking up last place in the league this week, we’re officially at the point of the season where you can sit back and enjoy any victories the Canucks manage to eke out, free of guilt. Think of it as if you had eaten really healthy for a month to make sure you looked your best on your wedding, and now that it’s behind you, Skip the Dishes has moved to the top of your contact list.
Unfortunately, the Canucks weren’t able to play spoiler on Saturday night against the Utah Mammoth, falling 7-4 to the visiting Yutes. It was an entertaining game of sorts, with the Canucks once again producing a high amount of goals, even if it ultimately ended with the sadness of having to watch Liam O’Brien outskate Marco Rossi and dangle around Nikita Tolopilo.
It’s also hard to watch any Mammoth game, really, as it’s just a constant reminder of how truly terrible Jim Benning was at his job. I don’t have any concrete proof that through a mixture of time travel and magic that Avril Lavigne’s Sk8ter Boi was based on the draft pick that became Dylan Guenther, but I have my suspicions.
But with six games remaining, all against Pacific Division opponents, the chance to play the role of the happy spoiler remains, especially in the matchups against the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings.
I know it’s a bit lacklustre to try to sell excitement by ruining the happiness of another fan base, even if that’s the model that a majority of sports social media has been run on since its inception. However, after a season that the Canucks just produced, you take your joy where you can get it. We’re at the point where you’re kind of worried the Canucks will raise ticket prices to celebrate securing the best lottery draft odds, so revelling in taking part of denying the playoffs to another team feels like a small thing to fret over.
Ultimately, we are six games away from freedom, which is a celebration in and of itself.
So let’s sit back and go through the highlights of this game, as we count down the days left until the Canucks offseason.
Best theory crafting
With Kevin Lankinen pulling up lame with a minor injury just hours before the game, Jiri Patera was called into action from Abbotsford.
Now, I choose to believe he was found rocking the go-kart track at Super Castle Fun Park, then just took a right, merged onto Highway 1, and made his way to Rogers Arena, but I think the construction theory holds merit as well.
Though if we’re being honest with each other, I think we all wanted Elias Pettersson to step up and be the backup on the night. EP40 finished another game with zero shots on net, so at the very least, we could have sat back and watched him stack the pads to make some saves.
Best scoring on the rebound
Best question
Can I just say that with nothing left to play for, surely the Canucks can just let Ser Douglas the Tall ride out the season playing the rest of the games.
Nobody is saying he’s a game-changer or that he will be a vital cog in the machine for any turnaround this club may or may not achieve in the next decade.
But with zero reason to play games, why not let the big guy chase down his first career goal, and protect the kids while he’s at it? With so few interesting things left to engage with regarding this team, you can at least offer up Douglas to the fans as something to watch for.
He performs well enough in his minutes, and I don’t think a handful of games is going to make Adam Foote or this organization love Nils Höglander in any way, shape or form, so you might as well see what Douglas can do in a late-season audition. We’re at the point where Nils could score five straight hat tricks to end the season, and Adam Foote would sit him for the last game for reasons nobody understood.
Bees? Probably bees.
Best speaking of
Linus Karlsson was the first star for the Vancouver Canucks on the night, as his two goals were another reminder of what an effective net-front player he can be. He started hot, cooled off, but has come on strong again as the season comes to a close, which has helped ease the concern around his newly minted contract.
And it was very early into this contest that Karlsson got on the scoresheet, as he stole the puck off the boards and skated hard to the middle of the ice, before unleashing a problematic backhander that Karel Vejmelka just couldn’t get a handle on:
I feel like that’s a shot that shouldn’t be going in a lot of the time, but the beauty of the NHL is sometimes you can just throw a puck on net and twist the soul of any goaltender into the self-loathing creature that lies just beneath the surface of any true netminder.
It’s also a fresh reprieve from seeing endless point shots on net from a team that does it so often that it’s gotten to the point where it might need its own kink section on Sub Reddit.
The endpoint? I like Karlsson’s game. To quote our old friend, the kid knows how to get to the GOTI and seems to thrive upon it.
Best of the rest
Although it was a high-scoring game, it wasn’t one filled with a plethora of scoring chances. In fact, the high-danger chances ended the night in all scenarios at 7-6 in favour of the Mammoth, speaking more to the efficiency of the shooters in question, the quality of said chances given up, and the goaltenders not exactly having themselves a strong night. In many ways, it kind of mirrored the game against the Colorado Avalanche, except with the roles reversed. Sadly, there was no one to play the role of Nate MacKinnon staring into a mirror as the mere thought of losing melted him into a Senator Robert Kelly ending, but it was close enough.
The Canucks had some glimmers here and there for the future, however, which is the fuel for dead seasons such as these.
Zeev Buium danced around the offensive zone to create a shooting lane that led to a plump rebound chance for EP40:
It will still take time to adjust, going from a generational defenceman like Quinn Hughes, who was able to generate plays like this three times in one shift, versus seeing it once a game, but the path for Zeev is there. The more time with the puck he gets, the more his confidence should grow, allowing him to pull things off like this more often. Hopefully, this time will be less demanding to be traded and all that.
Evander Kane would then hit the post, preventing his quest for scoring against every team in the league from being completed:
The shots at this point were 8-1 in favour of the Canucks, but it is important to note that no high-danger chances had been recorded by this point, not even Karlsson’s goal. The Canucks were doing a good job of generating shots on net, but none of them were particularly threatening. It very much had the feel of a game in which the better team is taking their time to get going because they know they can win this one easily whenever they want.
Which, no shade, I remember when the West Coast Express would regularly go down multiple goals early only to watch Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi do unspeakable things to the other team, marching the Canucks back to victory.
Now I will say I didn’t love the officiating on the night? It didn’t cost anyone the game, and ultimately doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things for Vancouver. I just found it confusing. It’s like when you get instructions from an order on Amazon, and all they send you is a picture of a whale giving birth to a bench, and somehow that is your guide on how to set up your new cheap off-brand smart lights.
What do I mean, you ask? Well, here is Liam O’Brien delivering a brutal 12-to-6 slash on Vittorio Mancini to absolutely no call from the officials:
Like, O’Brien tries to slash Vittorio so hard that he literally falls to the ice in the process. This is that guy trying to impress his date who tries to test the power of his punch at that arcade machine with so much intensity that he flails to the ground when he tries to put his entire hip into it. If Liam is slightly off in his aim, he’s chopping Vittorio’s arm or leg, and that feels like something that should easily be a penalty.
I just don’t understand how in a league where sometimes a dude reaches out and taps a stick only to watch it snap in half, gets called for slashing, but here O’Brien goes wood chopping and it’s all good.
Best Ryan Biech classic
Kailer Yamamoto would tie the game up near the end of the first period after utilizing some hustle on the forecheck, which led Vittorio attempting to reverse the puck along the boards, leading to Logan Cooley then finding Kailer wide open in front of Tolopilo:
It’s not a great puck from Mancini, as he doesn’t get nearly the pace on his clearing attempt, but he also has zero board support, allowing Utah to easily create the takeaway.
Now, whether that poor board coverage was due to a breakdown in their coverage, or simply the fact his own team wasn’t expecting the reverse attempt, either way it ends with PO Joseph doing the world’s largest turn of all time, preventing him from getting back in time to cover the front of the net. If you’ve ever tried to play a Nintendo game you once mastered as a kid, only to wonder how a human being could ever have controlled this clearly poorly programmed disaster of a character, that’s kind of how it felt watching PO Joseph on this play.
Best it’s Linus o’clock
Linus Karlsson was the most consistent Canuck player on the night, making an impact in all three periods of the game. And his approach was simple: crash the net and be as irritatingly persistent as possible:
Vjermelka was able to get his pad out to prevent Linus from tucking the puck in around him, but you could tell Karlsson was feeling it Saturday night.
Ty Mueller would also get a good look to close out the period, almost securing an Aatu Räty rebound, only to be denied by Vjermelka once more:
Best in defence of my goalie brethren
The Utah Mammoth would then take the lead after Clayton Keller charged into the slot, backing the defenders off enough for him to unload a powerful wrist shot that clanged in off the post to add an audible element to the misery he was unleashing on the home crowd:
Tolopilo didn’t have a strong night by any measure, but I will say that there are a couple of things on this goal where I give him some leeway.
One, that is just a fantastic effort from Keller. That’s the kind of thing Markus Naslund and Joe Sakic would do, where they’d push their way into the slot to back you off, and the second you gave them an inch of room, they would just murder you with a piss missile wrister. You’d be out the next day pretending you were Sakic unloading a wrist shot, only to watch as your 30mph offering fluttered wide, reminding you that a knee injury did not, in fact, prevent you from making the NHL.
Two, Zeev Buium brings his stick down in a Liam O’Brien chopping motion and actually does manage to deflect the puck, changing the trajectory on the shot. While I love the effort, I do think goaltenders wake up from horrifying nightmares about “good-intentioned stick work” from their own teammates tipping pucks past them.
Best do the Karlsson
Linus Karlsson would then open the second period much like he opened the first, this time by tipping the puck past a clearly confused and frightened Vjermelka:
Again, you can tell Linus Karlsson is feeling it when he’s behind the net and trying to lob the puck over the back of the net to try to dribble it in off the goalie. He ultimately has to circle around to the front and tip Mancini’s point shot for the goal, but in a season in which you are looking for any sign of hope, Linus doing confident net work like this is the kind of thing that helps people sleep at night about next year.
Zeev Buium would then drive through the offensive zone, shielding the puck well, before finding Brock Boeser for a hard shot from the slot:
Again, not the most lethal-looking scoring chance, but the process is there. Having players charge around the offensive zone is one thing, but doing so and creating scoring chances? That’s the level they need to get to consistently to become a better team.
Best stick work
Later in the second period, Fil the Pill would get called for a penalty, and again, I didn’t love it? I wouldn’t talk glowingly of it in the group chat? I would leave a two-star review and worry that I should have left a one-star review instead?
Nick Schmaltz clearly engages first, hooking in Hronek’s arm so he can’t get to the puck. And while I fully admit Hronek took that opening to drop them both to the ice, this very clearly seems to fall under ICBC’s no-fault insurance policy. Either both go, or none should have gone.
Don’t get me wrong, I respect the game from Schmaltz here. Nobody was better at pulling this off than Hank Sedin; that guy knew how to clamp down on you, and then half the time HE would be the guy to drag you both to the ice. He was a master at his craft.
But this was just another call where I was like ok sure, this feels dumb, but whatever.
Clayton Keller would, of course score on the following power play, and the Mammoth would never give up the lead again:
The goal was initially called off for high sticking, but upon further review, it was deemed a valid piece of woodwork. I honestly agree with that assessment, as Keller was raising his stick, and it seemed like the puck hit his shaft before it had cleared the crossbar. But also, these games don’t matter, so even if Keller had screamed, “I am getting off so much by high sticking this puck” while flailing at the puck high above his head, I ultimately would not have cared what the NHL decided to do on the play.
Best result of a really good trade that let Jim Benning work for another couple of months
With the Canucks heading back to the man advantage after Utah’s third goal of the night, you might have felt yourself feeling slightly confident.
After all, the Canucks power play has been oddly efficient as of late, to the point where you’ve almost considered soft-launching a relationship with it.
Alas, it was not to be on this night, as the Canucks would get absolutely clowned on their second period man advantage, resulting in odd-man rush after odd-man rush until Dylan Guenther finally, mercifully, scored.
The first odd man rush was Nick Schmaltz and Sean Durzi playing footsie down the ice, leading to a team so confident it was going to win that they were out here doing drop passes on breakaways:
Schmaltz would fire the puck wide, but don’t worry, as Dylan Guenther would get sprung for a breakaway after Zeev Buium offered up a soft dump-in that was easily batted down by Utah:
Buium circles away from the middle of the ice after the dump-in, which gave up the centre of the ice to Dylan for said breakaway, and only a post prevented it from becoming 4-2.
Of course, Guenther would finally make it a two-goal lead after the power play expired, when John Marino would find a wide-open Dylan at the side of the net:
Somehow, Marcus Pettersson and Tom Willander take turns covering nobody, allowing Utah to find passing lanes at will, ultimately leading to a tap-in goal for the Mammoth.
Best enjoying the ride
The Canucks were quiet in the second period for the most part, although DOC Brown had an odd-man rush in which he looked like he might have a pass in front of the net that could have been put in:
And then Sean Durzi would lose his sh!t for at Max Sasson for pushing him to the ice on a Linus Karlsson hat trick attempt:
Second periods have not been nice to the Canucks, and that trend continued in this one.
Best fresh hot start
With the third period starting on the power play for Vancouver, you’d be excused if you thought it would turn into nothing. I don’t think there is anything worse in hockey than a power play split between two periods, as it feels like the team never really finds its groove on either end of it.
Unless you’re the PP merchant himself, Jake DeBrusk:
We’re at the point where I don’t even know if Jake meant to tip that puck in, or if he’s just so good at this that he doesn’t even have to move his stick to be in the right spot, he just knows where to stand. This is the kind of tipped goal Castor Troy would get, after which he would just lean out of the airplane and shrug, as if to say, “What are you gonna do?”
DeBrusk is now tied for third in the league in power play goals, and with his reasonable contract, I think you can very easily find a market for him during the offseason should you want to bring in assets for him. Any team in need of a power play boost will take a nice, hard, long look at Jake in the coming year.
Best fun while it lasted
Tolopilo would then make a bold move that Cotton would have been interested in, as he attempted to play the puck around the boards himself, leading to Clayton Keller stealing the puck and finding Lawson Crouse for Utah’s fifth goal of the night:
Tolopilo could have probably played the puck around the boards to his bench, but I will say that Nick Schmaltz did a good job of getting in his passing/shooting lanes, so you can understand why the Vancouver goaltender went back behind his net. Zeev Buium also put himself in an awkward spot for a pass, and coupled with Keller closing the gap on him, also kind of ruined that option for Tolopilo.
In the end, Tolopilo tried to wrap the puck along the boards, but once again, there was zero support on that side of the ice, leading to another goal due to bad board play. It’s been a constant theme for the Canucks this season: they just don’t have the structure to support safe zone exits, which has led to a lot of goals against.
Best how much do I tip?
The Canucks kept it close when Brock Boeser tipped home a Marco Rossi power play shot, scoring their fourth and final goal of the night:
Brock Boeser is now fifth all-time in power play goals, passing Todd Bertuzzi, but still trails in attempted murders on ice.
The Canucks power play finished the night going two for four, marking a small bright spot for the team finishing out this stretch of the season.
UPDATE: The NHL went back and awarded the goal to Marco Rossi, thus ruining what I wrote. Brock Boeser must wait until he has booted Todd out of fifth place in PPG.
Best low point
Liam O’Brien should never score against your team, much less beat out your defenceman and then dangle around your goalie, yet here we are:
Willander is pinching in an effort to generate offence, and Marcus Pettersson can’t get over from his side of the ice to win the race for the puck with Brandon Tanev. Add in Marco Rossi being a step behind O’Brien, and that’s how you watch another team score their sixth of the night on you.
Best hat rack
As with seemingly every game this season, it’s mostly a race to see when Adam Foote will pull the goalie. And with under a minute left and with the goalie on the bench for the extra man, the Canucks were unable to generate a scoring chance, leading to Keller mercifully ending this one with the empty netter:
Another game, another loss, another day closer to freedom.
Best jersey Botch
Former Stanchies writer Trent spotted this bad boy today, and I’m happy Felix Potvin Canucks jerseys still exist out there.
Potvin was one of those goalies who was clearly on the wrong side of time, equipment and technique by the time he came to the Canucks, but man alive, if Don Cherry screaming his name on Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em videos still didn’t make me believe he might turn back the clock in Vancouver.
It’s also kind of surreal that Bob Essensa became the fan favourite out of Dan Cloutier and Felix Potvin from that 2000-2001 squad.
I don’t understand fashion. Can someone explain the boots to me? I need to know more about the boots.
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