By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter
October 20, 2025
The coming week begins with Vancouver getting into two more physically demanding contests in the Eastern and Central time zones before the return flight to Vancouver, playing the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators.
The first game, Tuesday, October 21, has the Canucks facing the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena (4:00 PM PT). This constitutes the 4th contest of a 5-game road trip.
The second game, Thursday, October 23, brings up the Nashville Predators (5:00 PM PT), representing the finale of the road trip.
HOW SUCCESSFUL COULD THIS ROAD TRIP BE?
At the end of the Canucks’ October 15 to 22, 2024 extended road trip last season, Vancouver returned to Vancouver in pretty good shape.
Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks, the team collected six of eight potential points during this week-long road trip. They had an overall positive goal differential, scoring 13 against all four teams combined and allowing only nine against.
As a whole, the Canucks recorded more shots on net (122) than shots against (115), as they only recorded less than 30 shots once and did not have less than 25. Vancouver also converted on three of six power play opportunities provided and killed 12 of 14 penalties taken.
No telling how the two games will turn out, but with key starting players out of the lineup, the replacement players will have little time to get accustomed to the tempo and ruggedness of the game. If they can pull together for the last two games, it just might be a very happy homecoming indeed for the Canucks.
The team is scheduled to fly back to Vancouver on Friday, October 24.
SO, THE CANUCKS ARE BACK: WHAT NEXT?
The Canucks face their first home back-to-back sequence of the season, marking a significant pressure point in their early schedule.
Saturday, October 25, Vancouver faces off against the Montreal Canadiens (4:00 PM PT). This is followed less than 24 hours later by Sunday, October 26, with a visit from the Edmonton Oilers (7:00 PM PT).
The late 7:00 PM PT start time for the Sunday game introduces additional stress on the Canucks turnaround time from the extended road trip to the players’ recovery and sleep cycles, potentially impacting performance and game preparation for the Oilers game.
After a fatigue-inducing road swing, the team is under pressure to secure points in these two home games to prevent losing momentum and falling back in the standings, having worked so hard to climb up to and maintain a top spot in their division.
THE GOALTENDING DILEMMA ON THE WEEKEND
The back-to-back schedule mandates splitting the starts between the two contracted netminders, Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen.
- Demko is the projected starter but requires careful management due to a history of injuries; he played only 23 games in 2024-25, interrupted twice by health issues.
- Lankinen, signed to a five-year, $22.5 million deal, is viewed as a highly capable 1B option expected to handle over 30 games and potentially the majority of road starts.
This creates a major strategic dilemma regarding risk weighting: If Demko is saved for the high-leverage divisional rival Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, Lankinen must face the high-scoring Montreal Canadiens (4th in NHL Goals For, 4-1-0 record) on Saturday.
- This arrangement amplifies the pressure on the backup goaltender during a crucial home return period characterized by lingering team travel fatigue.
- The positive of this moment is that both goaltenders shone in these kinds of moments on the road trip. It can be done again.
EARLY SEASON PERFORMANCE REVIEW
The Canucks have struggled even when afforded favourable matchups in the areas of Strength of Schedule (SOS) at -1.08 (32nd of 32 teams), and their Simple Rating System (SRS) is also highly negative at -0.83 (24th of 32).
Head Coach Adam Foote, in his first season , noted that the team “made it a little bit harder than we had to” in their recent win but liked the comeback mentality, which suggests systemic improvement is still needed despite the positive results.
When the Canucks transition to playing stronger, more established competition this week (like Pittsburgh and Edmonton), performance is expected to challenge the Canucks more, especially with the roster changes made due to key injuries.
Head Coach Adam Foote, in his first season , is under immediate pressure to assert system efficacy and address 5-on-5 puck management, a concern previously noted regarding top center Elias Pettersson.
Even-Strength Control Deficit: The early trend of being heavily outshot and out-chanced at 5v5 (72-57 shots, 34-24 on scoring chances, and 27-20 on high danger chances after the first three games, not being fully addressed on the road trip, is particularly evidenced by the inability to contain Washington’s shot attempts during their comeback. I guess it is a work in progress.
Special Teams Inconsistency: While the power play secured two vital goals against Dallas and one against Washington, the early-season analytical struggles remain a focal point for improvement.
Injury Management: The loss of Filip Chytil and Jonathan Lekkerimäki to injuries in the Capitals game adds unexpected stress to the center and forward depth, necessitating reliance on the organization’s reserve assets.
IDEAS TO SUSTAIN AND BUILD ON CANUCKS SUCCESS
- Continue To Deal With Even-Strength Issues: The current trend of conceding high-danger chances (27 HDC against in 144 minutes) is not good. The coaching staff must focus on defensive system refinement to improve defensive zone exits and shot suppression, particularly mitigating high-quality chances.
- The success of the team is currently heavily dependent on high “save percentage” hockey, rather than sound “process” hockey. This over-reliance on goaltending excellence will invariably create instability over the duration of the season.
- Optimize Top-Six Production: Continuation of in-game line restructuring to maximize shooting volume and high-danger opportunities.
- Integrate Returning Personnel for Defensive Impact: The return of experienced players like Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Teddy Blueger must be leveraged as soon as they return to the lineup to improve defensive zone responsibilities and stabilize the penalty kill unit.
Canucks Injury Update (puckpedia.com):
Until next time, hockey fans
