By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

October 19, 2024

Games of the Week

• October 13th vs St. Louis (2-5 Loss):
  • Vancouver lost to the Blues to begin their week:
    • The Canucks struggled to maintain possession and neutralize key offensive threats
    • Goaltender Kevin Lankinen made his first start of the season, recording 30 saves on the night.
    • Canucks standouts:
      • Kiefer Sherwood provided a spark, scoring both of Vancouver’s goals
      • Kiefer Sherwood, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and Brock Boeser also scored.
      • Goalie Thatcher Demko was stellar, stopping 17 of 18 shots.
    • Blues rookie Jimmy Snuggerud recorded his first multi-goal game in the NHL, proving crucial to the Blues’ victory
    • The game marked a lack of discipline which further stressed a penalty kill unit that was already underperforming. Elias Pettersson took a hooking penalty, and Filip Hronek was cited for high-sticking, actions that suggest a team was struggling to manage the pace and pressure of the opposition. 
• October 16th at Dallas Stars (5-3 Win):
  • The definitive turning point of the week, characterized by a dramatic, high-tempo offensive surge driven by restructured forward groups.
  • The Canucks faced immediate adversity, trailing 2-0 in the first period after goals from Mavrik Bourque and a power-play marker from Mikko Rantanen. This mirrored the early game struggles that the Canucks had faced since the start of the season.
  • An explosive second period where the Vancouver scored four goals, completing a rapid-fire comeback, proved the immediate success of the line reorganization that Head Coach Adam Foote and his assistant coaches had implemented for the road trip
  • The rally began at 6:40 with Filip Chytil scoring his third goal of the season, assisted by Evander Kane and Filip Hronek, narrowing the deficit to 2-1. 
  • At 8:50, Brock Boeser scored a Power Play Goal (PPG), tying the game 2-2. The go-ahead goal came just 1 minute and 16 seconds later at 10:06, scored by depth forward Max Sasson.
  • Conor Garland scored the eventual game-winning goal unassisted at 18:54.
  • Dallas made at close with a late goal to make it 4-3, but Quinn Hughes scored a power play empty net goal to complete the Canucks comeback victory.
  •  Thatcher Demko made 28 saves.

• October 17th at Chicago Blackhawks (3-2 SO Win):
  • A back-to-back road match against the Chicago Blackhawks tested the team’s physical conditioning and depth.
  • The victory was the result of the exceptional goaltending of the backup goaltender, Kevin Lankinen, and the scoring threat of the depth lines that came through with clutch goals.
  • The Canucks, falling behind 2-0 in the first period again, conceded a power-play goal to Ryan Donato and an even-strength goal to Tyler Bertuzzi.
  • Mirroring the Dallas game, the Canucks rallied from the 2-0 deficit. Jake DeBrusk scored a power-play goal in the second period, cutting the Blackhawks’ lead to 2-1. Continuing the theme of depth contribution, Max Sasson tied the game 2-2 at 13:42 of the second period.
  • Once again, while structural flaws led to the early deficit still existing, the team possessed the mental toughness to adapt and finish strong, taking the game to overtime and then a shootout. 
  • Kevin Lankinen started his second game of the week and delivered a commanding performance, stopping 31 of 33 shots faced during regulation and overtime.
  • The goaltending tandem’s reliability was fully validated when Lankinen cemented the victory by stopping all four attempts he faced in the shootout, securing the extra point for Vancouver.

• October 19th at Washington Capitals (4-3 Win):
  •  A Sunday morning matchup against the Washington Capitals served as the ultimate test of the team’s physical and mental fatigue, resulting in a crucial 4-3 victory that provided further evidence of the team’s resilience and capacity for change.
  • The victory broke Washington’s four-game winning streak.
  • The Canucks addressed Head Coach Adam Foote’s desire to eliminate slow starts, reversing the trend, by scoring three goals in the first period against Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who had previously shut out the New York Rangers.
  • Elias Pettersson scored just 59 seconds into the game
  • Tyler Myers scored his 100th career goal, followed just 41 seconds later by a power-play goal from Kiefer Sherwood.
  • Teddy Blueger scored early in the second period, his first of the season, after a puck deflected off Evander Kane’s skate, stretching the lead to 4-0. The Capitals were noted to have dominated second periods at five-on-five this season, leading in shot attempts 22-5, although Thatcher Demko’s strong form prevented any comeback in the period.
  • The Canucks’ ability to sustain defensive pressure gave way to a furious comeback though by the Capitals, cutting the 4-0 deficit to 4-3 in the third period with goals from Ryan Leonard (PPG), Jakob Chychrun, and John Carlson.
  • Brock Boeser missed the game for personal reasons, with Jonathan Lekkerimäki drawing into the lineup to replace him.
  • Both Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimäki left the game early due to injury, followed by Teddy Blueger in the final period, compounding the team’s depth concerns as the five-game road trip continues in Pittsburgh, finishing up in Nashville this coming week.

Key Takeaways

• Elite Resilience and Mental Toughness: The team’s ability to complete two consecutive 2-0 comeback victories and hold on against such an agressive team like the Washington Capitals on the road, demonstrates significant mental fortitude and trust in the system, a non-statistical, high-value asset.
• Goaltending Depth: : Both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen delivered high-leverage performances, validating the team’s rotation strategy and providing necessary insurance for a compressed schedule.
• Coaching Adaptability: Coach Foote’s restructure of the top-six forward lines brought the immediate offensive boost needed, validating the -proactive nature of the coaching staff, before key injuries.
• Even-Strength Control Deficit: The team continues to be heavily outshot and out-chanced at 5v5. Being down early with 2-0 deficits in successive games is the direct result of not starting games properly.
• Special Teams Inconsistency: Both the power play and penalty kill remain problematic, having generated minimal high-danger chances in early games, and giving up frequent high-danger chances.

Overall

The three-game segment between October 13th to 19th was pivotal, marking the shift from a struggling, analytically vulnerable team into a resilient, winning unit.

The ability to pivot from a definitive home loss (5-2 to STL) to two consecutive road comeback wins (5-3 over Dallas, 3-2 SO over Chicago), then hang on against Washington, after taking a 4-0 lead, and win 4-3 provides clear evidence of both significant strategic improvements and persistent structural weaknesses.

Three consecutive wins to start a 5-game road trip, suffering significant injuries to Brock Boeser who did not play; and Filip Chytil, Teddy Blueger and Jonathan Lekkerimäki in the game against the Capitals.

Player Spotlight: Reviewing the Week’s Highest Value Performers

• Max Sasson: His production of two goals in two games provided instantaneous NHL impact 
• Conor Garland: Garland’s three-point contribution over the back-to-back, capped by the game-winning goal against Dallas   
• Kevin Lankinen: Delivered two high-stakes starts, culminating in a critical 31-save performance and perfect shootout defense in Chicago
• Quinn Hughes: Scored the game-sealing 5th goal against Dallas and continues to drive high-volume minutes and offense as the team’s top-rated defenseman.
• Tyler Myers and Kiefer Sherwood: Both players delivered critical timely goals against the Capitals, with Myers recording his 100th career goal and Sherwood converting a key power-play opportunity.
• Thatcher Demko: Secured the victory against Dallas by turning aside 28 of 31 shots faced. His steady performance was essential in keeping the game within reach.
• Filip Chytil: clutch scoring ability, high individual high-danger chance generation of Filip Chytil (tied for the team lead with four HDC after three games), including the crucial first goal in the Dallas comeback.
  • His play and leadership legitimizes his placement as the second-line center who can alleviate offensive pressure on Elias Pettersson, a key factor in the overall strategic success of the week, until his injury against the Washington Capitals.

What’s Up?

Finishing 5-game road trip, with games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators will be a test of the team’s conditioning, resiliency, and roster depth with recent injuries to key players.

• Three games in four nights, all character wins, add the adversity of finishing up the road trip without key players.

This week was the beginning of a road-heavy schedule, playing more road games than home games in both October and November.

The 2025-26 schedule began with a “massive disadvantage” for the Canucks, with 6 of the first 8 games on the road, including this gruelling five-game road trip, which forces the team to traverse multiple time zones and cross-country distances, and will finish up against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 21st and Nashville Predators on October 23rd.

It has resulted, though, with three successive road wins, after a road loss to the Edmonton Oilers, and has elevated the Canucks higher up in the Pacific Division, steamrolling for that top spot.

Games This Week

• At Pittsburgh Penguins : October 21/25 @ 04:00 pm PDT
• At Nashville Predators: October 23/25 @ 05:00 pm PDT
• Vs Montreal Canadiens: October 25/25 @ 4:00 pm PDT
• Vs Edmonton Oilers: October 26/25 @ 7:00 pm PDT

Until next week, hockey fans