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The Stanchies: Tolopilo helps Canucks snap 3-game losing streak in high-flying affair vs. Ducks
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Photo credit: © William Liang-Imagn Images
The Stanchion
Nov 27, 2025, 03:51 ESTUpdated: Nov 27, 2025, 04:27 EST
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When last we talked, the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Calgary Flames in what many are calling the worst game of all time. It’s not just me saying it, Sports Illustrated is saying it as well.
No matter your take on the last game, however, I think we can all agree that, after the last few days, it’s very possible it was a turning point of sorts for the people running the team. Perhaps the dream of a perfect marriage between “if everything goes right” and “get in and see what happens” might be better suited for a TLC reality show, rather than the blueprint for an NHL franchise.
For your consideration, the events of the last few days have given way to:
  • Gary Mason popping out of his cabin to talk Canucks hockey, which, in my opinion, is our version of a groundhog in terms of hinting that ownership has some thoughts about sports and life that may have shifted.
  • You had Jim Rutherford giving an interview to The Province’s Patrick Johnston, where he dropped this quote on Quinn Hughes, stating, “I believe Quinn and his agent are aware of the direction we want to go. And they’re aware of the direction they want to go. Everybody wants to play on a winning team. But there’s different reasons why people make decisions.” which doesn’t answer as many questions as it creates.
  • We had reports of the Canucks posting a message/note/memo/Discord notification/carrier pigeon to the GM group chat letting people know veterans are available.
  • We had Rick Dhaliwal specifically mention Evander Kane as a name the team is looking to move in regards to the memo, which feels like where this was headed the day he arrived on the team, if we’re being honest.
  • We also had Adam Foote discuss the roles of cashews, cigarettes, and Russians possibly play in NHL data collection, in what is quickly becoming the quote of the season.
  • We also had Adam Foote explain away the season’s struggles, being due to injuries, simple as that. Which feels overly simplified, according to my Russian numbers.
  • We had Michael Bublé respond to a CanucksArmy Instagram post to debate the role karma is playing in the Canucks current predicament, specifically in regards to fans’ comments about the team. So if you’re reading this right now, playing Michael’s Christmas album whilst you decorate, this could all be your fault.
  • We also had Rick Dhaliwal mention that he has heard a potential Burnaby practice facility deal broke down, which leads to the obvious question: was the rink set to be at Bublé’s house?
  • Frank Seravalli, who, safe to say, isn’t the most popular person in Canucks Nation, quickly approached the “worst person you know made a good point” territory by being the biggest voice in the room pushing back against the narrative that Quinn Hughes wants out, saying he’s hearing people closest to Quinn say he is committed 100% to the Canucks.
  •  Elliotte Friedman mentioned in passing in his latest article that he thinks the team even discussed Quinn Hughes’ attitude this season with their star defenceman, in terms of projecting the right energy as a captain. I think Quinn Hughes has a Resting Existential Crisis Face myself, but I do agree that his dealings with the media and his overall body language this year have felt like that of a frustrated person.
  • Lachlan also got his first win in Warzone this week, just so we can have a bit of good news.
All of which is to say it’s felt like a whirlwind of information, allegations, and rumours coming down the pipeline in the wake of the loss to the Flames. Which brings us to Wednesday night, when the Canucks faced the team we all assumed would lead the Pacific Division heading into the end of November, the Anaheim Ducks, who used to be Mighty but are now just sort of regular.
And you know who shines when they’re mired in a slump, surrounded by noise, and coming off of the worst loss ever against the second-worst team in the league? Your Vancouver Canucks.
Yes, for those of us who know this team oh so very well, the Canucks 5-4 victory over the Ducks wasn’t surprising so much as it was a nice warm blanket, hugging you and letting you know that no matter how crazy this world gets, Vancouver will still do Vancouver things.
The victory was far from secure throughout most of the game, as the Anaheim Ducks play a style of hockey akin to huffing a bunch of glue, then jumping out of a helicopter while attempting to moonwalk into a perfect landing, but the Canucks held their own on this night. A large part of that was due to the play of goaltender Nikita Tolopilo, who was brought in when Kevin Lankinen was announced as having to take time away from the team for personal reasons.
And while I don’t think Tolopilo had any one moment on the night that would land him on the Quinn Hughes Insane Saves Index, the requirement needed in order to say your goalie stole a game, it’s clear he played a very large part in the win. The biggest moment in my mind for the young netminder was with under 10 minutes left in the third period, when he made a breakaway save that kept the game tied at three. Playing behind this Canucks defence is no easy task, and it just felt like Tolopilo was up for the challenge, as he fought his way to making 37 saves on 41 shots when all was said and done.
And while Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes only had one point apiece in the game, they were also instrumental in the victory, playing a brand of gritty hockey that can one day be used to force a trade to the New York Rangers and hopefully be named captain.
All in all, it was a good night for the Vancouver Canucks, even if it didn’t change the direction of the team all that much. Still, at this point, it was one of the most entertaining games of the season, which is something we might as well enjoy while we wait to see where this ship turns to next.
Let’s Mason McTavish dive into this.
Best head to head
The Ducks don’t like to play defence because they’d rather go end-to-end and score.
The Vancouver Canucks don’t like defence.
In many ways, it was a perfect marriage of chaos, as this game felt more like pond hockey than the normal NHL action, in which not covering the right guy on a play can get you traded by Rick Tocchet.
But unlike previous games, the Canucks managed the rare feat of matching a team goal for goal in the chase for victory. Now, as I sit here chewing on some cashews, I will say that the Ducks probably should have won this game, as they pushed the pace for the majority of the night. But as we talked about, kudos to Tolopilo, and kudos to the Canucks for finding ways to score.
And right away, the pond hockey was evident as Brock Boeser got a breakaway on a power play of all things, as once again Quinn Hughes did his QB routine of hanging back and finding a dude open for the tuddy:
Boeser then set up Elias Pettersson for a chance from the dots, but he was denied by Petr Mrázek, a man who doesn’t use consonants where my brain expects them to be:
But as this was pond hockey, and it involved Adam Foote’s weird Cops defensive system of screaming and running at the suspect all at once, the Ducks got prime chances of their own. They almost opened the scoring themself when the Canucks found themselves out of position in their own zone again:
As we’ve talked about before, every team makes mistakes, but it’s the volume of mistakes and the kind of mistakes Vancouver makes that are problematic. Take a drag of your cigarette and watch this play break down, as it all starts innocently enough when Alex Killorn skates to the point. At this point, everything is fine, there are no bees anywhere, everyone is calm, but then Conor Garland and Tyler Myers just wheel off and cover Jacob Trouba, because bees. To make matters worse, Chaos falls to the ice, and Garland just sort of drifts off Trouba to find someone else to cover, leaving the Ducks’ defenceman a clear lane to the net for a potential backdoor play.
Killorn then moves the puck down low, and eventually the Ducks find Ryan Strome all alone in front because, by now, the Canucks’ coverage has fallen apart.
Tolopilo makes the not-quite-insane save, but that was kind of indicative of the night Nikita had. He faced a lot of shots in high-danger areas, and while he was lucky the Ducks missed some of those chances, Tolopilo was also very good at making saves throughout the night whenever the Canucks’ coverage broke down.
Best cool guy vibes
I enjoy Linus Karlsson. I know he’ll never be an NHL superstar, but I just like the way he plays. I would trust the man with a pair of keys to my house to water my plants and feed my cats while I was away, is what I’m saying.
Adam Foote doesn’t trust him quite yet, as the fourth line only played around seven minutes, but when you make plays like this, you’re going to earn more ice time:
Linus closes down that gap quickly and initiates a board battle, and then manhandles his way into generating an odd-man rush, finishing off the play with a shot on net. That’s the kind of thing you can set your watch to.
On the other hand, I would not trust Tyler Myers with keys to my house. I feel like I would come home to a Hangover-type situation in which my main concern would be how the tiger got inside my bathroom:
I think this is also a very good example of the Canucks trying to do too much. Initially, you see Tyler Myers fly over to the defensively minded Elias Pettersson’s side of the ice, before clipping his skate, taking both men out.
And when you watch the replay, you can see that Elias Pettersson releases from the boards and goes to the middle of the ice, leaving Jansen Harkins a lane to skate by him. Now, maybe Elias Pettersson was going to circle back to the boards, and he was just harassing the puck carrier for a brief moment, but Tyler Myers PANICS when he sees this, so he flies over to the left side of the ice to cover. They clip skates, they both fall down, and now Jackson LaCombe ends up with a breakaway that isn’t quite insane enough to get on Quinn’s radar, but is still pretty dope.
These are the plays you watch and you wonder whether the players don’t understand the system, or don’t trust the system, or can’t execute the system, or whatever it may be. For all the tedious offensive issues Rick Tocchet had in his time coaching the Canucks, the early returns on Adam Foote’s system is one that struggles just as much producing five-on-five offence, but with far worse defensive numbers.
Best great save, Tolopilo!
Some of my favourite saves in the NHL are the “oh shoot, did I just poop myself?” rebounds where the puck just dribbles between the goalie’s legs before they panic and reach down to see if something got through:
It wasn’t a technical masterpiece from the Canucks goaltender, but man alive, I found his compete level downright endearing.
Best Kylo Ren approved message
Speaking of Linus Karlsson, he might not have had a lot of minutes, but he made them worth it when he scored the opening goal:
First up, even though Arshdeep Bains didn’t get an assist on this goal, he gets a philosophical assist on the play from me. His forecheck causes the deflection on the puck that sends it slowly into the air, which allows Max Sasson to feed the puck back to Arshdeep, who then skates the puck into the zone before cutting back and finding Marcus Pettersson with a slick spinning pass. MP3 fires the shot towards the net, Max tips the puck wide, and there is Linus Karlsson, watering your plants, feeding your cat in a timely manner, and potting in the rebound.
Best never say the word
There were, by my cashew count, around 43 posts on the night, including this one early on:
Even with clanging the puck off the post, Nikita managed to track the puck and make the save, sprawling out to stop the rebound.
Again, not a classically beautiful game, but Tolopilo’s saves had personality that would earn him a second start from me.
Best veteran call out
Make it eight straight games that the Canucks power play has scored, and this time it was by none other than the former Vancouver Giants legend himself, Evander Kane:
Evander Kane takes a gazillion shots a game, but hasn’t had a lot of luck go his way this season, so I did warn/tell you all that some nights it was going to eventually work. And on this night, yep, Kane picked his spot and found the back of the net, in what I assume garnered a nod of appreciation from a certain Burnaby crooner.
Good faceoff win, good shot, good trade value.
Best David Attenborough hockey
Up first, we witness a creature engaged in one of hockey’s most remarkable displays of instinct and intelligence. Here, during the perilous moments of a penalty kill, a lone skater glides into view.
As the Ducks group up for a coordinated strike, the Orca stalks the blue line. Elias Pettersson anticipates and predicts the next movement:
In this brief yet extraordinary display, we witness the spirit of the penalty killer; bravery not born of recklessness, but of unwavering commitment.
Next, we have two Orcas, sensing danger with the precision of seasoned predators, hurling themselves across the ice in perfect synchrony, as Drew O’Connor and Kiefer Sherwood lay out to block a pass:
And in this fleeting, breathless moment, we are reminded that in the world of hockey, survival depends not only on speed or strength, but on the willingness to cast oneself fearlessly into the path of danger for the good of the pack.
And finally, in the waning seconds of a defensive stand, a lone Orca prepares to perform a feat that defies instinct itself:
The Duck winds up for a fearsome shot, utilizing a projectile of hardened rubber that can reach speeds formidable enough to fell even the sturdiest of creatures. And yet, Garland does not flee.
Instead, he advances.
Time seems to pause. The arena inhales. And then, impact. The puck slams into his foot with a crack that echoes across the ice.
Only when the immediate threat has passed, when his teammates surge forward on the counterattack, does he retreat to the bench, his stride uneven, but his mission complete.
Best tradition
Evander Kane took a penalty at the end of the first period, because for every good thing Kane does, the balance must be maintained with a “oh man, come on dude” moment from Planet Ice.
This led to the Ducks remembering that they like to score goals, so they quickly got to work on the power play to start the second period:
And once again, we see that old friend, the swarm attack, go to work, as the Canucks use the Cotton-approved bold strategy of sending three guys on the penalty kill to overload one side of the ice. This leads to the Ducks easily finding Jackson LaCombe, with the assists going to LaBrush and LaHairClip.
Garland tried to answer back quickly, as he and Brock Boeser showed a lot of chemistry in terms of generating offensive looks on net, but they were denied by Mrazek on this attempt:
It was silly fun hockey, what can I say.
Best 60% of the time it works every time
The Ducks were out-shooting the Canucks 2-1 at this point in the game, and a lot of their chances were a bit more calculated than Vancouver’s? As Jeff said, the Ducks had many shifts where they set up shop and moved the puck around until they could get a clear shooting lane, which would lead to shots and, in this case, a rebound right in the slot that they just put wide:
And Vancouver’s response was very much a holding-on-for-dear-life scenario, hoping they could counterattack the other team to death. They basically hid in the bathtub, and the minute the murderer entered the room, they’d run right by them, screaming obscenities and telling them they know where they work.
And since Anaheim really, really, REALLY believes in themselves, they would commit HARD on offence. Which would lead to Quinn Hughes countering with a breakaway:
Or would lead to Drew O’Connor getting a semi-breakaway:
You get the picture. Anaheim would get their looks on net, and held the edge in play, but at least Vancouver was generating some good looks on net in this game.
Best putting your cashews on the table
With the game stuck at 2-1, Conor Garland and Brock Boeser, showcasing the kind of chemistry normally reserved for Heated Rivalry, caught the Ducks being overaggressive once again in the offensive zone, which led to the goal of the night for Corolla:
You know how a goal is nice? When I have to put in multiple angles of the same goal in a new clip:
I don’t even need to break this one down aside from saying Conor Garland just gave them the full Corolla treatment. That’s the type of goal where if you’re the goalie, you seriously consider retirement after the game. “Maybe this life isn’t for me,” you say to yourself as you watch another grown man undress you on live TV, leaving your jockstrap hanging from the rafters.
All I’ll say is I recently watched a bunch of Pavel Bure goal clips, and this one would not be out of place on that list.
Also, that cut back and pass from Brock Boeser? Absolutely sublime.
Just a wonderful goal all around.
Best speaking of
The Ducks are a fun team to watch; they just are. Even if, yeah, their belief in themselves leads to moments like this where Hughes strips them of the puck and sets up Evander Kane for an odd man rush, followed up by both Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk narrowly missing out on making it 4-1 Vancouver:
And yeah, sometimes the Ducks’ belief in themselves is as misguided as my attempts to nail my Duo Lingo lesson, confidently telling my phone that I can’t wait to eat at the baño. Who cares if it can lead to Conor Garland stripping Beckett Sennecke of the puck, generating another offensive rush for Vancouver?
I think I had a third clip to lean into regarding wildly overestimating your own abilities, but I have no idea where it went.
So instead, here’s Tyler Myers high-sticking a dude and then shoving him to the ice in disgust:
It was a fun night of hockey, what can I say.
Best bystander effect
The one thing about believing in yourself, however, is that sometimes it works. Which is why I don’t think anyone was too surprised when Anaheim started mounting their comeback.
The Ducks made it 3-2 on the power play when the Canucks once again found a way to blow coverage and give ample time and space to Anaheim:
There is no diamond formation, only pain.
You can count two times during this play where two Canuck players chase the same man.
The first is off the faceoff when Kiefer Sherwood and Quinn Hughes both try to close the gap on Olen Zellweger. Now, Quinn Hughes does manage to block the shot, but he has no idea where the puck bounces to, so he is effectively out of the play, spinning in spot as if his network just got disconnected in a power outage. Kiefer has also slid into the shadowlands at this point, as his attempt to block the shot leads him into the boards.
With the puck bouncing around the slot, Aatu Räty makes the most egregious error on the play by leaving the middle of the ice and skating towards the blue paint to double up on Tom Willander’s guy. This leaves Leo Carlsson all alone in the slot with the goalie down and out, and he makes no mistake about it.
And yes, being down a man naturally leads to more errors; that’s part of the pain/joy of the situation. But it also feels like the Canucks are just making too many mistakes, even giving the context of the situation. Too much panic, too many bad reads, it truly feels like the players are reacting on instinct, and that instinct is not serving them well.
Best quack, quack, quack
Beckett Sennecke, a name I assumed was a character in a Taylor Sheridan TV show, would then find Mason McTavish for the finish on the two-on-one after Evander Kane was easily stripped of the puck by Jackson LaCombe behind the Ducks net:
That’s not all on Evander Kane, of course. When you lose the puck behind the opponent’s net, it takes more than just that to end in a goal mere seconds later. The play kind of dies because DP25 is playing too high in the zone. Sennecke releases behind him, and Elias either doesn’t realize it or doesn’t give it enough attention, and as a result, the Ducks get an odd-man rush goal out of it.
And while the entire team has played poorly defensively this season, Elias Pettersson has started to stand out more and more to me as the guy making the most mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson have been a tire fire at times this season, but it just feels like Elias Pettersson’s reads and gap control have been incredibly shaky this past month.
It’s as if he’s missing Ralph Wiggum’s ability to be sitting on a bus and realize he’s in danger.
That being said, he is very young, and this is a tough environment to shine in at the best of times, but when everyone is healthy, I’m not sure I would have a spot for him in the lineup every game.
Best post your best shot
How bad is Anaheim defensively? They gave up a two-man breakaway on the power play:
I’m telling you, these Ducks have some West Coast Express vibes to their team. Defence? Who cares? Let’s just score goals. You get the sense they’re never out of a game, but they’re also never secure in victory, either. It’s stressful, fun hockey, and I love it.
Best nothing else you can do
The perfect metaphor for Quinn Hughes over the last year is in this play; he skates all over the ice, draws in four opposing players, finds a wide open man, and…:
Fil Hronek doesn’t even realize the empty net he had staring him right in the face. I cannot wait to ask him about this play 17 years from now during his next media availability.
And Hughes didn’t stop there, as he was firmly in his one-man army mode in the third period. Want to chase him out of the zone? Sorry, he’s going to dance across the blue line and keep the puck in:
This clip alone should upgrade his trade value by another draft pick or two. I get a puck across the blue line, and I phone my mother to let her know about my big win on the day. But here’s Quinn Hughes being harassed by two players, and he’s just spinning and stickhandling around them like they’re Michael Bublé in a celebrity game of hockey.
And then on the same shift, just when Anaheim is like “thank ****, we got the puck out, that little POS has to go for a line change now, right?”, Quinn Hughes just zips and steals the puck and sets up Jake DeBrusk for a great look on net:
Just filthy stuff from the Canucks captain in this third period.
Best TSN turning point
Now it might not be insane enough to impress Quinn Hughes, but for my money, this save from Tolopilo was the biggest moment of the night for the Canucks:
Drew O’Connor loses the puck along the boards, gives up the breakaway, but Tolopilo not only makes the huge save, but he dives out to cover the rebound as well.
That’s what I’m talking about when I say I loved Nikita’s game Wednesday night. Dude was literally fighting to cover every single puck he could; he never gave up on a single play. You could almost hear Robert Downey Jr. yelling at him to survive.
Best shark on the water
Perhaps inspired by that primal save from their goaltender, Conor Garland almost caught the Ducks napping on the ocean when he snuck in and almost struck on a turnover in Anaheim’s zone:
If anything, the trade value for a lot of these players went slightly up from this game.
Best pluck those Ducks
Vancouver would finally take control of the game with under five minutes to go, when a “thoughts and prayers” shot from Hronek would be tipped by Max Sasson before pinballing in off of Drew Helleson’s skate and into the net:
Bit of luck, but that’s what a giant save will do for you; it gives you a chance to earn your own luck.
Best final touches
Now, the Ducks scored with 6.8 seconds left, but out of respect to Tolopilo, we will only show the Canucks empty netter that happened earlier:
Elias Pettersson actually makes a baller play on this one by diving on Leo Carlsson like he was a human hand grenade, shielding his team from shrapnel, and having the wherewithal to hit the puck up to Drew O’Connor for the finishing touches.
Again, EP40 only had the one point on the night, but this guy was out there trying to throw big hits, killing penalties, generating offensive chances, and closing out the game. Hell, at one point he got a penalty for goalie interference because he ran Mrazek down when dragging the puck on net. When was the last time that happened?
Overall, yeah, it was a fun game. I don’t know if it means anything in the grand scheme of things, but at least it was entertaining.
Onto the next.
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