wrongfully convinced myself #Canucks would come out flying …… wow
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The Stanchies: Jonathan Lekkerimäki notches a goal and an assist, and that’s all we’ll say
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Oct 23, 2026, 02:35 EDT
You’d be forgiven if you had looked at the Vancouver Canucks‘ schedule this week with a bit of relief in your eyes, viewing the Detroit Red Wings matchup as a bit of a reprieve. Not a guaranteed win by any stretch of the imagination, but at the very least, a game that might have a healthy dose of competitiveness mixed into the batter. It’s like when the former junior player who has been smurfing in beer league misses a game and you give a big sigh of relief because now you can ask your girlfriend to come watch this one.
After watching top teams roll through the Canucks with ease, it would be nice to see how Zeev Buium or Tom Willander handled a world in which a Carolina Hurricanes player wasn’t leering over their shoulder, peering at their Amazon shopping habits. To see how Filip Chytil played with a few games under his belt, to see some of that high-end skill on display. To see how Liam Ohgren… handled having to watch the game being a healthy scratch? I don’t know.
And while a 5-2 Detroit win might hint at the game being close at times, as those unfortunate enough to have watched all sixty minutes will tell you, this might have been the worst loss of the season.
Using shot totals to summarize a game is often the coward’s way out, but in this case, it feels apt. The Canucks only mustered 13 shots on the night compared to the Red Wings’ 31, although never count out the NHL’s weird fascination of being insanely accurate about shot totals, leading to retractions the next day.
But barring that, 13 shots were the final tally, including a second period in which they registered not a single puck on net, a true humiliation kink for those who partake in that. Later in the third period, after a big burst of offence from the Canucks (three shots in a row), the crowd got louder and louder after each one. To some, that might feel like shaming the team, but honestly, there was some healthy appreciation mixed in with that. Watching a talented team with high expectations play like hot garbage, that gets the Bronx cheer. With this team, sure, there is a bit of irony in there, but overall you can sense the fan base knows this team just doesn’t have the juice.
Shot attempts, high-danger chances, Corsi, hamburgers eaten in one sitting- whatever metric you want to apply to this game- Detroit walked away the winner.
We all knew the Canucks were going to struggle this season, and aside from those sweet, sweet two games of the Paul Cotter Receipts Era, the results haven’t been surprising. I will say the loss against Detroit felt like the ninth in a row for Vancouver; you could feel the frustration from the Canucks. Sticks being tightened, attempts at getting the perfect shot sailing wide, D Elias Pettersson slamming his stick against the glass as the final buzzer sounded, all the signs are there.
As much fun as it is to plan the Canucks’ last-place finish, which grants them the right to drop in the draft and pick third, it is easy to forget the players involved have to bear the burden of losing. Many of them won’t be on this team if/when things turn around, taking away any potential joy of looking over the hill at the next wave of replacements. The normally reserved Brock Boeser had some harsh words about loss in the post-game media scrum.
“I mean, it’s the same stuff game after game. I don’t know where the disconnect is…if guys in here aren’t listening to what the coaches are preaching on our style of play, or some of our structure is not working, or what it is. But it’s embarrassing.”
Such is life on a rebuilding team, however. If it’s any motivation, Quinn Hughes stands in the way of a ten-game losing streak on Sunday, so there has never been a better game to treat like a must-win situation. After Ottawa showed the league the blueprint of how to welcome back boys from the USA group chat, the fans will be ready too. Is it tight, like a playoff game? Only an owner has that kind of insight, but it does feel like a big game.
In a season in which it was wondered openly how much of an appetite this fan base would have for a rebuild, I will admit this result against Detroit worried me. Losing a game in this fashion against a team that is far from elite, it’s hard to revel in the idea of a team learning from its mistakes and growing from it. There wasn’t much of anything to sell to the fans after this one.
Which is why Sunday is now more important than ever. With so few games on the schedule holding any meaning, the one against Quinn Hughes will be a nice measuring stick for a team trying to show its fan base that it cares and will defend their honour and be the kind of team they can be proud of. They don’t have to win, but by god, at least get some shots and throw some hits.
The bar is low, but you still have to step over it on occasion. Otherwise, this all just feels rather sad.
Let’s dive into this game, shall we?
Best Shane Gillis monologue
The game had barely come out of the Siegel’s Bagels oven before Detroit got on the board. As seems to be happening as of late, this one was a result of a Canuck player assuming the puck was making its way to him along the boards, only to turn around in horror and look at the open guy in front of his net:
I can only imagine the level of overthinking that happens during an eight-game losing streak, especially one in which every choice you make seems to end up in the back of your net. I also feel like you watch Carolina take away every single puck ever invented, and you can’t help but think, “ok yeah, man, I can do that; I can jump up and steal a puck, no problem!”
The problem, unfortunately, is that when Fil Hronek jumps to the boards to cut off a potential reversal, Lucas Raymond simply goes to the net instead. With nary a soul around him, Raymond does the deftest of tips, and Kevin Lankinen barely has time to think to himself about asking his agent for loopholes in his contract that might force a trade.
Part of you wants to believe there is a lot of bad luck involved in all of this. Not that the Canucks are world beaters, but that the results are coming in this strong due to a thumb on the scale. Like when the Flyers were losing early on in the season, it was hard to imagine the team was truly that terrible.
But then you check the stats and the Canucks puck luck is right down the middle at 100.28 PDO, and even worse, they are the sixth-highest team in terms of shooting percentage on shots on goal with an 11.24% rate.
Unless you’re a true draft pick monster, then this news is terrific. Because at this rate, the Canucks are eventually going to “cool down” and things could get even worse.
Best growing pains
Man, I know this is the point and I really am glad they're finally doing it - but this #Canucks team could end up being known as all-time bad by the end of this year and it's really too bad being extra bad doesn't increase your lottery chances
Much like leaving a guy alone in front of the net appears to be bad in the game of hockey, so does leaving your guy alone anywhere on the ice. Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser show us what happens when you release your check and then you sort of stand around wondering where the time went:
Cotter is doing the middle-management role on this goal, just watching over things and wondering what he can take credit for, and Brock Boeser is doing my role: being in a meeting and wondering why this wasn’t just an e-mail. Both men sort of lose interest in coverage, and Detroit takes advantage with Dylan Larkin sneaking in behind Cotter and almost scoring, leading to William Wallinder scoring from the type of angle normally reserved for an impassioned lesson from Hipparchus of Nicaea.
The end result is Kevin Lankinen being sad. I have to imagine his brain is so scrambled right now that his fight-or-flight response has settled into dissociation’s best friend: freezing.
Best latest “He’s back!” moment
The right flank Elias Pettersson one timer goal is a part of his game that genuinely does seem to be "back". #Canucks
When will Elias Pettersson be back?
Now. You’re looking at ‘now’. Everything that happens now, is happening now.
But what happened to ‘then’?
We passed it.
When?
Just now. We’re at ‘now’ now.
Can we go back to ‘then’?
We can’t.
Why?
We missed it.
When?
Just now.
When will ‘then’ be ‘now’?
Soon.
One of the two bright spots on the night was goal one and goal two from Vancouver, so I beg you to enjoy this moment. This indeed is vintage Elias Pettersson, one-timing a piss missile from the Petterzone like it’s 2022.
I like how the Canucks kept it simple and kept feeding the monster until eventually EP40 ripped twine.
I also loved how Jonathan Lekkerimäki looks like such a normal NHL player right now. Dude is out there moving the puck with ease, making plays, keeping the puck alive. If he keeps this up, he can get the lifetime contract with Columbus and then never do anything again.
Best if it wasn’t for bad luck, Lankinen would have none at all
Lankinen getting lost every time he blocks a shot and the puck goes infront of the net🤦♂️. #Canucks
Kevin Lankinen has not been good this year, I think that’s fair to say. But I also think he has had some bad luck go against him, and I also think he plays the absolute worst position you can play in when you start questioning why the Hockey Gods hate you.
There is no relaxing as a goaltender; there is only more pain.
So while Kevin Lankinen is doing his best not to cry on camera as the game of hockey continues to torture him, he has to watch as the puck just sort of falls in the crease for Lucas Raymond to lazily swipe into the net:
Fil Hronek, also a leading member of Dumpster Fire Island Season, shoves Dr. Doom Viktor Arvidsson toward his goaltender, which certainly doesn’t help things.
Does it look like ugly, sloppy hockey? It should.
You know how bad this game was? The good luck the Canucks got in this one was that Detroit hit two posts on the next couple of shifts.
First up, J.T. Compher ends up wiring a shot on net through traffic that hits the post, barely staying out:
Yes, that is Andrew Copp standing all alone in front of Lankinen with not a single Canuck player around him. The Canucks organization in their own end continues to be….well the polite way to say it is it’s a work in progress. The mean way to say it is to reference Adam Foote, BUT WE WON’T DO THAT. We shall remain positive. Work in progress it is.
Detroit would also hit the post a shift later when Michael Brandsegg-Nygård popped the puck in the air over D Elias Pettersson before uncorking a shot that hit iron:
I have played a lot of NHL 27 over the last month, and I have to say, this is frame for frame the exact animation you see when someone tries to load up a huge hit and misses. Does D Elias Pettersson need to add the X-Factor of truculence to his game? Sources say yes.
Best silver lining
Lekkerimäki is getting noticeably better every game. #Canucks
When things get bad, however, we turn to Lekkerimäki as he seems to make everything feel ok, if even for just a second.
With time winding down in the first, Lekkerimäki jumps on a puck in the neutral zone and flicks it ahead for Filip Chytil to skate into, resulting in a penalty drawn and a pretty cool looking flip through the air:
I am pretty sure Chytil did a full 360 on the play, which doesn’t help on the scoreboard but at least it looked fun.
I know it’s tedious to peddle in the “at least he tried” Bart Simpson cake economy, but that’s pretty much all this game had going for Vancouver. The shot totals were low because even when Zeev Buium was doing his best to do his dekes, bro, he would discover that beating four NHL players on the same play is what the kids call “tough beans”:
Again, though, I want to see more of this from Buium. Go out there and flex your legs, see what you can learn on the job in terms of discovering some of that college form and seeing how you can apply it in the NHL. This season, if nothing else, is the one to make mistakes in.
Paul Cotter then almost scored off a Fil Hronek point shot, which you can firmly file under the “He did the right things on the play” economy:
He certainly did the right thing and made a good play, but hockey gods are fickle and all that.
Best opposite of a shootout
Since the start of last season, #Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen has allowed three or more goals 43 times. That is second during that span. The only goaltender who has allowed three or more goals is Juuse Saros at 45 games
There was a stretch in the second period where it felt like both teams were doing their best to not get a shot on net, except Vancouver was way better at it? If you’re into the small victories of life, Vancouver proved nobody was better than them on not generating shots, which when you write it out like that, doesn’t feel nearly as fulfilling and optimistic as I had hoped.
Still, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård getting a breakaway and instead choosing to shoot the puck in the general direction of the moon felt like a clear victory for Vancouver:
In terms of “good process”, Arshdeep Bains continued his strong work along the boards, pulling up and finding Max Sasson, who would then find a trailing Jamie Oleksiak, who in turn had his stick lifted:
Still, you can see the vision on that one! Max Sasson on an actual good team probably has at least five assists by now compared to the lone apple the NHL gave to him after taking away his goal last game.
Arvidsson would get a chance at redemption on a brilliant touch pass from Emmitt Finnie in the middle of the ice, only to lose the puck as he was bearing down on Kevin:
D Elias Pettersson gets beat on that play and ends up doing the JT Miller special of no longer using his legs so he just reaches out with his stick to try and stay in the general vicinity of the puck. Is it effective defence? No. But we’ve all been there.
Brock Boeser would come closest to getting a shot in the period, but ends up firing wide on a one-on-one rush midway through the frame:
Shoutout to Kevin Lankinen for making this incredible save to (briefly) keep Detroit’s lead stuck at two:
A lunging diving blocker save through traffic? That is absolutely delightful. If I were him, I would send that clip to my friends and family after the game and then demand they watch nothing else from said game and make sure they never check the box scores. Then I would tell them that in Vancouver 3 means 0, so I won 1-0. Then I would spend the night staring at my ceiling wondering how long I could keep up this house of lies.
Best keeping an eye on the prize
This stinker streak could be redeemed by beating the Wild on Sunday #Canucks
Victor Mancini didn’t learn a single lesson from the mistakes of his friends in the first period, as his inability to tie up his check leads to Michael Rasmussen tipping (deftly) home Detroit’s fourth goal:
I think there is an element of luck for Detroit in that two of their goals were perfectly tipped. But then you look at the shots, and yeah man, it’s very clear they are generating their luck in this one. I don’t want to say it was inevitable Detroit was scoring five goals on the night, but it kind of was?
I don’t know how you end a period with absolutely no shots and come to any other conclusion.
Best clearly Canadian
Clear-sight analytics has Kevin Lankinen pitching a shutout by the way #canucks
Emmitt Finnie put the exclamation point on this game. With John Gibson leaving the game after two periods and NHL rookie Michal Postava making his third period debut, the Canucks still couldn’t get a shot before Detroit scored once more:
Max Sasson is fighting the puck down the entire ice, which allows Finnie to skate in with speed before busting out a stride deke, and it’s 5-1 Detroit.
Why did Kevin Lankinen randomly fall on the play, you ask? That certainly didn’t help matters, you point out? All very astute observations.
I honestly don’t know what is going on with Lankinen right now, but it feels like the perfect blend of poor play, terrible luck, and hockey gods hating him. The dreaded triple tap.
Best official shot
The crowd pop on the first shot since the 2nd period was absolutely hilarious 😂 #canucks
In case you were wondering, Jake DeBrusk was the one who broke the shot “shutout” around seven minutes into the third period:
Best context
Canucks went 1 hour, 42 minutes & 42 seconds of real time between shots on goal
Best young guns
In fairness to #canucks our shooting percentage has been off the charts tonight against the wings!
The Canucks salvaged a modicum of respect by making sure the rookie goaltender didn’t shut them out for a period, as Zeev Buium and Marco Rossi helped rush the puck up the ice, ending in a perfect pass to a hard-charging Lekkerimäki for the finish:
This was the most NHL-looking play the Canucks had all night, and it’s a nice nod to Marco Rossi’s stickhandling and patience, Zeev Buium’s threading-the-needle pass to Rossi, and Prime Time for continuing to show he might actually be legit.
Overall, though? Terrible game. This one felt like garbage to watch, and I couldn’t even find more than a few examples to be optimistic about. Folks, this is what a bottom-feeder team’s losing streak looks like. They never said it was going to be easy, but this is what rebuilds look like.
For the love of God, someone better throw a hit on Quinn Hughes on Sunday.
Best advice
Hey Canucks fans, what we just did as a fanbase was a ton of fun and you guys should do the same thing on Sunday when your traitor former captain returns
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