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The Stanchies: Canucks celebrate St. Pettersson’s day with 5-2 win over Panthers
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Stanchion
Mar 18, 2026, 02:53 EDTUpdated: Mar 18, 2026, 03:17 EDT
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We’re at that point in the season where, technically, you should be allowed to enjoy whatever victories the Vancouver Canucks can cook up. A 5-2 victory over the broken husk of a shell of the defending Stanley Cup Champions? That’s just another result of the Good Vibes Era in Vancouver, so go ahead and embrace it. No more post-game media scrum with a captain looking past your shoulder at a blank space on the wall as he visibly gives off the aura of trying to wish themself off of the team, now it’s a group of kids rediscovering the joy of hockey without old guys grumbling about the way things used to be.
Did Conor Garland use to wear an onion on his belt, as was the fashion at the time? Maybe, but that’s no longer our journey.
Instead, we have Elias Pettersson rediscovering his scoring touch, sniping home an absolute bomb for one goal, and then realizing that lucky goals can only happen when you actually shoot the puck on his second goal of the game.
We have the BRÖ line giving a bit of a tease that this team might have a legitimate top-six line in their holster for next season, with Brock Boeser of all people playing the role of the grizzled veteran willing to do the hard work along the boards.
We have Drew O’Connor on the cusp of setting career highs in goals, notching his 16th of the season.
We had Kevin Lankinen getting to rediscover the joy of winning a hockey game, in this economy, of all things.
We had defensive-minded Elias Pettersson bringing the snarl on the backend that he had at the start of the year.
Basically, a lot of good things went down in this game, even if a lot of it was predicated on the Florida Panthers being embarrassingly bad in their own zone.
Still, we’ve seen games handed to the Canucks that they fumbled away, so credit where credit is due, Vancouver had itself a tidy bit of business on Tuesday night.
And sure, that nagging feeling in the back of your head that says the Canucks could find a way to crawl out of last place with a random unbeaten streak shouldn’t be ignored. The numbers and odds are so stacked against that from happening, of course, but this is Vancouver after all; if there is one team capable of blasting out an extended winning streak to crawl into third last in the league, it would be this one. You’d have to listen stone-faced while Adam Foote explained to you how the team winning down the stretch is absolutely vital for this team’s future, all while knowing the team will get obliterated in the draft lottery.
Hell, even now we all kind of know the Chicago Blackhawks will somehow win the lottery and jump up and land the first overall pick, that’s just how the league works.
But until the point gap closes, and because we ultimately have no control over anything, I say enjoy the nights like these. After watching loss after loss and seeing the mental fatigue that surrounded this team and city for the last two seasons, there is something refreshing about just enjoying the ride for what it is.
Let’s jump into this one and make some gif money.
Best all I’m saying
Ser Douglas the Tall should be in the lineup. Let the man win a job and angrily shove people a couple of times, that’s all I ask.
He is clearly not going to light the world on fire, but maybe he’ll punch a dude for getting fresh with the goalie, and damn it, I want more of that in my life.
Best wait for it
Elias Pettersson led the team in shots, and yes, that is a real sentence I just wrote. He ended the night with four of them total, but actually attempted eight, so it’s safe to say he was feeling it on the night. It obviously helps when a team gives you the time and space that Florida gave all game long, but sometimes a game like that can kickstart your confidence a bit. This is the type of game where you hope and pray that EP40 gets a bit of swagger back in his stride and brings that same energy against a much tougher opponent in the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
But we won’t get ahead of ourselves, Quadrelli fines me $100 anytime I do that, so let’s stick to the game at hand!
And as James pointed out, Elias had a moment in the first period where he didn’t shoot, and you found yourself rolling your eyes a bit, wondering if we were in for another night of Shy Ronnie:
As with most of the situations that EP passes out of a prime shot on net, you can still see the vision. You don’t watch Hank Sedin in his prime and not come away learning to love the subtle art of having the balls to pass up an incredible shot in pursuit of a nice apple.
But Hank is a Hall of Famer who has earned that right, whereas Elias is still trying to figure out who he wants to be. And for now, he needs to be shooting the puck. All the time. All of the shooting, all of the time. Because he has a wonderful shot. We know this because we’ve seen it. And would you look at that, he is unloading a piss missile from the Petterzone, a land long thought lost, to make it 1-0 Vancouver:
Made perhaps even more impressive by the janky gif dimensions (I have no idea what is happening with them tonight), Elias Pettersson snipes home a perfect pass from Marco Rossi in a scene reminiscent of 2021. And I don’t know if Florida is simply enjoying a shortened season after two Cup wins, or if they haven’t done their scouting of Vancouver’s power play, or if they simply didn’t bother respecting EP40’s shot, but they give up a huge passing lane for Rossi to work with.
AJ Greer is basically worried more about Fil Hronek getting a shot off (fair enough, I suppose), but you can see him almost turn around in surprise that the Canucks are feeding a pass through the middle.
Aaron Ekblad doesn’t even bother closing the gap with Rossi, as he literally decides that adjusting his jersey is the more pressing matter at hand, so he doesn’t offer much resistance either.
The end result? The Good Vibes Era continues, baby.
Best feeling good
I have no idea what the future of Nils Höglander looks like in the NHL, but much like Ser Douglas, I am also on board letting him play out the stretch and try to prove he deserves a job – either with this team, or another.
By the underlying numbers his line with Evander Kane and Aatu Räty struggled hard in their own end, but that also doesn’t feel like a line designed for it’s defensive prowess; Evander Kane doesn’t seem to care much for the idea of back checking past the middle of the ice, despite actually being quite talented at pick his spots at generating takeaways, and Räty has been the Neville Longbottom of the Canucks where you just sort of hope he puts it all together one day.
That being said, Nils’ speed and tenacity is enjoyable to watch, especially when he tracks down a puck and almost goes end to end in pursuit of a goal:
And speaking of being enjoyable to watch, the Brö line continues to be the hottest thing in Vancouver since that weird bench was installed on the Granville Bridge. And much like that bench, it might not always be pretty, but it gets the job done, much like this rush, which eventually ended up with Boeser ripping a shot attempt from the slot:
As mentioned earlier, Brock Boeser entering his veteran “I’m just here to help these Hobbits complete their quest” storyline arc has been a fascinating turn of events. His board play in particular has been excellent, as even in the clip shown above, you can see the deft play on the puck where he kicks it forward for Liam Öhgren to skate into, and when that fails, Boeser has already chased down the puck and makes sure it gets to Liam on the second attempt.
Brock is clearly not the fastest skater on planet earth, but the way he has morphed his game to adapt to the skill set of Rossi and Öhgren has been a welcome sight for a team that has seen its fair share of veteran players kind of check out of the whole hockey thing when this season went off the rails.
Best road to hell is paved with something something
The Canucks didn’t make many mistakes against Florida, but the biggest one belongs to the defensive enthusiast and number 25 in your programs, Elias Pettersson:
He basically tried to make an outlet pass and banked it right off of Carter Verhaeghe’s legs and onto Matty Tkachuk’s stick, which probably isn’t how he drew it up? I don’t mean to assume anything, but I feel like if asked about it, he would admit to the fact that this wasn’t the plan.
Luckily, on a night like this, you can pretend this never happened and simply move on with your life.
Elias Pettersson turnover? I don’t remember it. What are you talking about?
Best shooting your shot
The reason people always beg for Elias Pettersson to shoot the puck is that, yeah, sometimes a bounce (or two) can go your way:
Is it about time EP40 earned himself a bounce? Of course it is. But you can’t earn them unless you actually shoot, which is why it’s nice to see this pay off for him.
When you watch the replay, you notice there isn’t a shooting lane for Petey to get his shot off. You see him load up and put the puck short side, as he has no angle on net. So he shoots it at Gustav Forsling on the short side, which sends the puck into Aaron Ekblad, and then into the net.
And the thing is, EP40 is skilled enough that I am kind of convinced he was feeling it after the first goal and was like, “Ah screw it, let’s try the double bank shot.”
Which would mean he didn’t learn the lesson about lucky bounces because no luck was involved at all. It was pure skill.
Damn it.
Regardless, the Canucks continued that momentum throughout the first period, as Evander Kane stepped up to make a brilliant takeaway at centre ice, and tried to ram the puck directly down the throat of Sergei Bobrovsky:
I still think there should have been a market for Evander Kane at the deadline, and I don’t say that Vancouver failed in generating it. I just think other teams should have rolled the dice with a late draft pick because I think Kane’s game will round into form more and more as he continues his recovery from major surgery. We see it in sports all the time, athletes that undergo surgery can take almost a year to fully recover, so it wouldn’t shock me to see Kane continue to play better as the season rolls on.
That said, if teams are scared off by his defensive issues, fair enough.
Back to Elias Pettersson, though, as he continued his shooting ways in the opening frame, and almost secured a hat trick when he hit iron short side as he skated downhill at Bobrovsky:
One game does not a comeback make, but for a fan base essentially stuck in Hook mode with EP40 waiting to see if he remembers how to imagine eating food again, this was as promising as any game we’ve seen in months.
Remember, the Good Vibes Era merely requires glimmers of hope at this point.
Best oof stat
Ignore that, the Good Vibes Era says we can ignore that stat.
Best Brö, did you see that
The Canucks would make it 3-1 a shift after EP40’s shot hit the post, when Marco Rossi found himself more open Foody World in Queensborough!
That’s a lie, of course. The Foody World has never opened and will never open, but I digress.
The point is, Florida seemingly forgot all about defending their net, which ended with Rossi all alone in front of Bobrovsky:
While Rossi gets the credit for the nice snipe, it truly was a full BRÖ effort.
  • Brock Boeser starts things off by hunting down Mike Benning, who hurries the puck along the boards.
  • Öhgren follows up pestering Nolan Foote, which causes him to lose the puck in his feet.
  • Vittorio Mancini then jumps up and makes a good battle at the boards to keep the puck in the zone.
  • Zeev Buium covers his man and tracks back out of the zone so the Panthers can’t spring Vinnie Hinostroza on a breakaway.
  • Öhgren recovers the puck and sends it along to the Board Battle Brute Brock Boeser, which means Mike Benning knew he was screwed.
  • Boeser sends over a no-look backhand pass right in front to a wide-open Marco Rossi, who adds in a little shimmy shimmy ya, and it’s 3-1 Vancouver.
  • I will now let you pause and listen to ODB because I know it’s in your head now.
It was just a solid night all around from Vancouver. Florida might be in a tank mode themselves, but they still have the skill to beat you if you get too lazy. The Canucks played a tight game, especially in regards to their young D-men on the night. Pinches were made, but coverage was maintained, and there were many instances of the Canucks holding their zone and shutting down the Panthers’ cycle.
Best glimmers of hope
As I said, the young defence had themselves a game, as Vittorio would set up a quick counterattack when he dialled long distance on an outlet pass to Brock Boeser for a partial breakaway:
It wasn’t a high-event game for the most part, but it was one of the more entertaining games we’ve seen on home ice this year.
Best veteran savvy
Florida made its last stand with their second goal of the night, in one of the few moments in the game where Vancouver sort of lost its defensive form. The end result? Sam Bennett all alone in the slot:
Again, it wasn’t an egregious error, and certainly Florida had the uglier breakdowns on the night. Vancouver overloaded the bottom of the zone just enough for Florida’s best line to make the Canucks pay, which in the Good Vibes Era is just the price of doing business in the NHL.
Best back to our scheduled programming
Vancouver, however, did not cry and mope about giving up the goal. Instead, they got back on their horses, completed their mission in Braithwaite Manor, then headed out to restore their two-goal lead:
And honestly, much like the BRÖ goal, this one was a good combination of timely effort from Vancouver, coupled with Florida seemingly disconnecting their controller on the play.
  • Kane starts things off with a shot from the point into Aatu setting up a screen, which causes Bobrovsky to drop his stick.
  • Evander Kane jumps up and hustles at Hinostroza, who gets off a weak clearing attempt along the boards.
  • D Petey jumps up with another well-timed pinch (the young d-men made a lot of smart pinches on the night) and steals the puck from Luke Kunin.
  • D Petey then finds Evander Kane along the boards, who eventually finds a way to get the puck down low to Räty.
  • Räty then scores, but not before telling Bobrovsky to step back.
  • I will now let you enter the Ludaverse.
It’s just nice to see smart plays get rewarded with goals, you know?
Best going for thirds
Elias Pettersson almost got his hat trick in the third period when Jake DeBrusk made his cameo of the night, ending with EP40 trying to stuff home a shot down near the blue paint:
Elias Pettersson does a great job of picking off the pass attempt from Florida, before eventually positioning himself down low to get the puck from Jake. And the best part? He just shoots it on net. Tries to jam it in. Doesn’t attempt a fancy pass, doesn’t shy away from the middle of the ice. Just tries to get real greasy with it, and you absolutely love to see it.
Best game of inches
The Canucks’ power play officially went two for four on the night, but they came within inches of making it three when Karlsson missed a tip-in on a perfect pass from Kane, and then when Willander just sent a Karlsson pass wide as well:
It was odd seeing Florida play worse with net coverage than Vancouver, I won’t lie. It felt so strange.
Then, to really make you wonder if EP40 is back, here he is slamming a shot into Mackie Samoskevich, because all he knows how to do now is shoot:
This is the Elias Pettersson we want to see more of.
Best closing it down
Kevin Lankinen faced 18 high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, though I would debate that half of those weren’t really dangerous. Maybe dangerous adjacent.
Either way, Kevin had his best game in months, as he kept his crease throughout the game and didn’t struggle with rebounds.
Instead, he was out here stoning Verhaeghe, even with Tkachuk screening him in front:
And even when Nosek shoved Lankinen out of the crease after making a dandy of a save on a Gustav Forsling point shot, he was still able to make sure Florida didn’t score:
And when Florida jabbed at the puck after the whistles, Vancouver was on the scene to apply the appropriate amount of face washes.
All in all, it was a proper game of hockey from the lads.
Best no soup for you
I have a feeling it wasn’t the first time Tkachuk didn’t have much to show for his PP, who found himself taking out his frustrations after a battle with DP25, resulting in a Canucks power play:
It just felt like every young Canucks d-man had their moment in this game. Whether it was a well-timed pinch, or a nice outlet pass, or a good board battle, or, in DP25’s case, generally being a good a$$hole anytime someone got near his goalie or in his zone.
Best drive for five
Tom Willander would jump up into the play to cement the Canucks fifth and final goal of the net, which ended when Linus Karlsson found Drew O’Connor all alone in front:
Tom Willander’s skating is the most exciting part of his game, and we have seen him make these rushes on occasion throughout the season. He clearly has to work on his own zone coverage, but when you watch him make these forays into the offensive zone, it’s hard not to get caught up a little bit in the potential of his skill set.
Best explanation
Best post to post
And just because it’s fun, here is both teams finishing the game by hitting a post each:
Canucks win. Good Vibes Era continues. See you Thursday!
Best jersey Botch
Put it in a museum.
Best new sounds
The Canucks new locker room victory song is amazing. Watching the team clap along to this beat? This song is what we needed:
Up next? New goal song.
Everything from the past must be burned to the ground. The old goal song had its time, and it peaked in 2024. The Good Vibes Era needs an energetic song to match it.
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