Canucks Coach Adam Foote – CanucksBanter

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Canucks Losers Of Five In Last Six (1-4-1)

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

November 30, 2025

In a tightly contested defensive battle that featured multiple video reviews and disallowed goals, the Los Angeles Kings edged out the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in overtime. The Canucks secured a point on the road but extended their recent struggles, having now lost five of their last six games.

In the first period the Kings opened the scoring at 17:19 from Anze Kopitar with a wrist shot from the slot off the rush. Assists: Adrian Kempe, Brian Dumoulin.

In the middle frame, Evander Kane tied the game 1-1, at 2:52, when stepping out of the penalty box, Kane accepted a stretch pass for a breakaway and beat goaltender Anton Forsberg on the stick side. Assists: Drew O’Connor, Tyler Myers.

Kings player Adrian Kempe scored the game-winner in overtime at 3:58, when after a chaotic scramble in front of the net where Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen ended up prone on the ice, Kempe fired the puck into the open net. The goal stood after a Situation Room review for goaltender interference. Assists: Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala.

Referees Take Prominent Role In Game

The first period was chaotic, featuring three disallowed goals in the opening minutes:

A Canucks goal was ruled “no goal” on the ice and upheld after video review confirmed the puck did not fully cross the line.
Two subsequent goals (one by each team, including a tip by Vancouver’s Aatu Räty) were overturned due to successful offside challenges by the respective coaches.
The game-winning sequence was controversial. Quinton Byfield drove the net on a 2-on-1, leading to a collision with Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. The puck squirted loose to Kempe, who scored. The Situation Room ruled the contact was incidental and occurred outside the crease (in the “white ice”), allowing the goal to stand.

Top Performers

Adrian Kempe of the Kings: The first star of the game with the overtime winner and an assist on the opening goal.
Kevin Lankinen Canucks goalie: Kept the Canucks in the game with 21 saves on 23 shots, making several key stops before the chaotic ending in OT.
Evander Kane of the Canucks: Scored the lone goal for Vancouver and was a physical presence throughout the game.
Anton Forsberg Kings goalie: Solid in net for the Kings, stopping 19 of 20 shots to earn the win.

Game Quotes

From the Canucks:

Head Coach Adam Foote on the team’s resilience and young roster in pre-game interview: “They’ve done a good job. They’ve been put in some tough places, but they’re also pretty excited to get the opportunity and show their stuff and grow. When we get out of this, these injuries come back, we’re going to be deeper with guys with more experience, so we’ll take it.”

Coach Foote on defensive improvements needed: “[We need to] understand when we want to exaggerate our coverage, extend our coverage, and close out guys in the corners a little bit harder.”

From the Kings:

Head Coach Jim Hiller on the tight, low-scoring nature of the game: “It teaches you to play in tight games, but you don’t always want to be in those tight games. It’s hard on everybody… The players understand that they probably play a little more cautious than they would normally.”

Adrian Kempe on the overtime winner in the post-game interview: “I just tried to find some open ice. The puck popped out to me, and I had a pretty open net. Obviously, there was a little bit of a scramble, but I’ll take it.”

NHL Pacific Division Standings (November 30, 2025)

Rank	Team	GP	Record	Pts	Goal Diff	Streak
1	Anaheim Ducks	24	15-8-1	31	+11	W1
2	Los Angeles Kings	25	12-6-7	31	-2	W1
3	Vegas Golden Knights	25	11-6-8	30	0	W1
4	Seattle Kraken	24	11-7-6	28	-7	L3
5	San Jose Sharks	26	12-11-3	27	-10	L1
6	Edmonton Oilers	26	11-10-5	27	-14	W1
7	Vancouver Canucks	26	10-13-3	23	-16	L2
8	Calgary Flames	26	9-14-3	21	-16	W1

Odds N’ Ends

Canucks forward Conor Garland did not play because of an upper-body injury, according to NHL.com. Coach Adam Foote said Garland is still with the team in Los Angeles and would not know the seriousness of the injury until results of an examination were reviewed by the team doctor in Vancouver.

Next Up for the Canucks: They travel to Denver to face the league-leading Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Until next time, hockey fans

By CanucksBanter

October 10, 2025

Filip Chytil scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks opened their season with a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

The Czech center batted a puck into the net at 2:53 of the third period after it went off the back of Calgary defenseman Kevin Bahl’s head.

Chytil followed up just under six minutes later, collecting a puck from Arshdeep Bains and streaking up the ice, then firing a shot up and over Dustin Wolf.

Kiefer Sherwood put the Canucks ahead 1-0 at 14:53 of the first period with a wrist shot low past Wolf’s blocker from just inside the top of the right face-off circle. Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar missed the net on a good chance at the other end to create a rush chance going the other way.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Brock Boeser also scored in the four-goal third period to help Vancouver pull away. Thatcher Demko made 17 saves.

Adam Foote won his NHL coaching debut for the Vancouver Canucks.

Demko, who missed the first two months of last season recovering from a knee injury and only played 23 games, kept it 1-0 by stopping Blake Coleman on a short-handed breakaway 52 seconds into the second period and Yegor Sharangovich on a power-play rebound with 29 seconds left in the period.

Morgan Frost scored for Calgary, beating Demko with 6:54 left.

Wolf made 21 saves for the Flames, who were coming off a 4-3 shootout win in Edmonton on Wednesday night.

“It was nice to see the different guys chip in at the end,” Sherwood said.

Frost spoiled Demko’s shutout at 13:06 with a low shot through traffic to make it 4-1 but Boeser restored the four-goal lead at 17:06 for the 5-1 final.

“I think the first game is huge,” Demko said. “Just keep the momentum building and especially the turnover we had from last year in our room and our coaching staff too. It’s a testament to the work everyone put in the summer and then through camp.”

NOTES:

It was the seventh career two-goal game for Chytil, who does not have a hat trick in the NHL. … Vancouver center Braeden Cootes, who was picked No. 15 in the 2025 NHL Draft, played 11:14 in his NHL debut and became the first 18-year-old since Petr Nedved in 1990 to open the season in the Canucks lineup.

Source: Associated Press and nhl.com