Articles in Vancouver Canucks

Canucks Surrender Four Unanswered Goals In OT Loss To The Avalanche

03/14/2024 at 3:54am EDT

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Nathan MacKinnon’s power-play one-timer in overtime was mostly blocked by Juulsen, but as the puck ascended roughly towards Whistler, it struck the visor of Nichuskin in front of the Vancouver net and tumbled past goalie Casey DeSmith to give the Avalanche a 4-3 win in a game the Canucks led 3-0 until the final seconds of the middle period....

That first Colorado goal, just so you know, was directed in by Mikko Rantanen’s stick with 1.8 seconds remaining after an Avalanche shoot-in was going to rim around to Juulsen but hit the photographer’s hole in the glass and bounced crazily towards the slot.

There was some bad luck to go with the dodgy calls that went against the Canucks, as their four-game winning streak ended while the Avalanche extended their run to five straight victories.

But, as Juulsen said, the Canucks never should have been in a spot where a bad call or bad bounce could cost them this game.

They led Nathan MacKinnon’s team 3-0 on home ice and were yielding next to nothing in scoring chances (and had allowed only 15 shots) prior to a defensive-zone faceoff that the Canucks actually won with 16 seconds remaining in the second period.

“That goal definitely gave them belief,” Canuck centre J.T. Miller, who scored 24 seconds into the game and set up Ilya Mikheyev’s first goal in 35 games at 2:44, lamented to reporters. “It's all that team really needed.

“Sh-- happens though. We should be able to come up in the third, two-goal lead at home against one of the best teams in the league. I don't understand any better reason to get up for that. It just sucks.

“This (loss) is all us. We didn’t win our battles, didn’t execute our passes. We were dumping it in for no reason. No forecheck. They outplayed us, they deserved to win.”

read on

Game highlights are below.

An Eight-Year Deal For Elias Pettersson

03/02/2024 at 10:49am EST

Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Elias Pettersson on an eight-year contract.

“This is a very important signing for the Vancouver Canucks,” said Allvin. “Elias is one of the top players in the National Hockey League and is a key member of our leadership group. We know his best days are ahead of him and with his high end skill and desire to be the best, we look forward to seeing Elias succeed and grow. This signing is another example of our ownerships’ unwavering commitment to do what ever it takes to help us be a successful organization.”

The 'Appalling, Horrifying, Terrible And Shocking' Vancouver Canucks

03/01/2024 at 2:37am EST

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

The word of the day Thursday for the Vancouver Canucks was egregious.

Coach Rick Tocchet used it five times in the opening two minutes of his post-game press conference to describe his team’s mistakes.

Oxford reminds us that egregious means appalling, horrifying, terrible and shocking.

All of these words except the last one applied to the Canucks in their 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, a potential first-round playoff opponent for Vancouver. But, really, after the slide in the Canucks’ play the last couple of weeks, there was nothing shocking about their failure against the Kings.

Vancouver may still lead the Pacific Division, but they are 1-5-1 in its last seven games against Western Conference contenders and other teams desperately trying to get into the National Hockey League playoffs.

The Kings had just been swept in Alberta, losing 4-2 against both the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, but they barely allowed the Canucks an offensive sniff. The Canucks lost most of the puck battles, were unable to work through the Kings’ heavy board work and were more or less checked into submission once they fell behind 2-0 in the first 25 minutes.

“I don't think we gave them a lot but what we gave them was egregious,” Tocchet said at the start of the post-mortem. “I mean you look at the goals, we're all in (gambling), pushing the chips in. We've got a day off tomorrow; some guys need it. We've got to recharge and we've just got to get our mind right.”

continued

Catch the game highlights below.

The Struggling Elias Pettersson

02/29/2024 at 9:34am EST

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

In the vortex of “noise” swirling like a cyclone around Elias Pettersson these days, the most important sound is what his coach thinks of him. And Rick Tocchet says the Vancouver Canucks star can play better.

“Petey... is maybe just OK,” Tocchet told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “We have 22 games or whatever left to get his game going.”

While the Canucks’ other alpha forward, J.T. Miller, has been driving the team through its struggles the last couple of weeks, Pettersson has been quiet.

The 25-year-old centre has just one goal and two assists in his last six games, and the Canucks have gone 1-4-1. Excluding a three-point game against Detroit two weeks ago, when Vancouver last won in regulation, Pettersson has only four points in his last nine games.

Pettersson remains 10th in National Hockey League scoring with 29 goals and 75 points in 61 games, and most of his recent decline in scoring can be attributed to a downturn in his on-ice shooting percentage at five-on-five and his failure to collect points at five-on-four during the Vancouver power play’s 3-for-31 slump.

But Pettersson’s sudden drop in production coincides with an eruption of conjecture and debate about his future with the Canucks that was topped by DailyFaceoff insider Frank Seravalli’s tweet Wednesday evening reporting that “significant progress” has been made in contract talks between the Canucks and Pettersson’s agents and that an eight-year contract extension “could be finalized in the coming days.”

continued

Video- A 'Wild' Win

02/19/2024 at 5:19pm EST

Scoring by periods and box score is here.

Game highlights are below.

Nikita Zadorov Suspended Two Games For Head Hit On Lucas Raymond

02/10/2024 at 9:32pm EST

NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2024) – Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an illegal check to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond during NHL Game No. 805 in Detroit this afternoon (Saturday, Feb. 10), the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 4:07 of the second period. Zadorov was assessed a match penalty.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Zadorov will forfeit $39,062.50. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

For a full explanation of the decision, complete with video, please click on the following link: https://www.nhl.com/video/topic/player-safety/zadorov-suspended-two-games-6346665141112.

Mistakes Cost The Vancouver Canucks In Loss To The Boston Bruins

02/09/2024 at 1:37am EST

from Iain MacIntyre od Sportsnet,

The biggest game of the season was the most disappointing game of the season for the Vancouver Canucks, who haven’t had many of them. At least Brad Marchand didn’t punch anyone in the head six times.

Rolling into Boston on a 10-0-2 burn, on equal footing with the Bruins for the first time in a decade, the Canucks on Thursday conjured vibes of the franchise’s Stanley Cup Final losses here in 2011, giving themselves no chance to win due to a series of early mistakes and goals against.

Boston won 4-0, scoring two shorthanded goals in the first period, then doubling the lead in the first minute of the second. The Bruins pulled even with the Canucks atop the National Hockey League standings.

It was Vancouver’s first regulation loss since Jan. 4, and only its third since Dec. 5. But it came at an inopportune time, on a big stage against a formidable opponent who has been living in the heads of Canucks fans for 13 years.

"A lot of eyes were on us tonight," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. The Bruins "didn't play well their last game (and) their coach kind of called them out. They showed up, and we just, we made some stupid mistakes. You're in big games, you’ve got to make sure that you don't make mistakes and you... have to have effort. I thought some guys played well. I mean, I thought some guys tried. Unfortunately, we had half the guys, they weren't there."

continued

Game highlights are below

A Successful Debut For Elias Lindholm With Vancouver

02/07/2024 at 3:14am EST

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

After nine days between games, the Vancouver Canucks emerged from the National Hockey League break the same first-place team that went into it. Well, not quite the same.

Now they have centre Elias Lindholm, so they may be even better.

After a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames last week – while Lindholm was on holiday in Mexico – the 29-year-old Swede scored twice in his Canucks’ debut on power-play tips and Vancouver beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Tuesday to re-ignite their hot streak.

The Canucks are 10-0-2 since Jan. 4. Lindholm became the first player to score twice in his Canuck debut since Esa Tikkanen 28 years ago, and Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko won his ninth straight start to tie Dan Cloutier’s franchise record from 2002.

“My role is to help the team both ways,” Lindholm said. “Obviously. . . hasn't gone the way offensively I wanted (this season). But I'm happy to be here. I have a good opportunity to do something special here with this group. It's always nice to score and, like I said, there hasn't been too many this year. So it's nice.

“There's a lot of good players on this team. For me, it was kind of easy tonight. I didn't have to do too much. They made it easy for me.”

continued

Watch the highlights below.

Calgary GM Craig Conroy On Yesterday's Trade

02/01/2024 at 10:18am EST

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

Not that Craig Conroy needed to justify anything about the significant haul he’d just procured from Vancouver, but when asked about the curious timing of it all, the Flames GM was direct.

“What I was looking for in return, I got it,” said Conroy of the all-star week trade Wednesday that saw him send Elias Lindholm to Vancouver for a first-round pick, a conditional fourth-rounder, Andrei Kuzmenko and prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo.

“I was looking to get younger, and picks, and a roster player — they checked all the boxes, and it was the best deal moving forward.

“I didn’t have a timeline set, I thought it would be closer to the deadline, but about four days ago Vancouver got aggressive, so I circled back with other teams and told them I was getting pushed and needed a decision.

“I’m thinking it’s a fair deal, a good hockey trade for both teams.”

Unlike his summertime Yegor Sharangovich swap for Tyler Toffoli that was erroneously panned by many, this one is a massive win for the first year GM and his organization.

And the deal could get even better, as the fourth-rounder turns into a third-rounder if the Canucks make it to the conference final.

continued

Vancouver/Calgary Trade

01/31/2024 at 9:00pm EST

A Multi-Year Extension For GM Patrik Allvin In Vancouver

01/31/2024 at 11:05am EST

Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks President, Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford announced today that General Manager Patrik Allvin has signed a multi-year contract extension.

“Patrik has done a terrific job in helping us rebuild our hockey team both on and off the ice,” said Rutherford. “He has worked tirelessly to create a new culture and identity that embodies the important attributes of hard work, structure and dedication. With an ever present win the day mentality, Patrik’s leadership skills will be a key driver for our organization moving forward.”

Video- Tyler Myers Fined For Elbowing

01/28/2024 at 12:09pm EST

NEW YORK (Jan. 28, 2024) – Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for elbowing Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly during NHL Game No. 772 in Vancouver on Saturday, Jan. 27, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 11:51 of the third period. Myers was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Watch below.

The Vancouver Canucks Are Expected To Extend The Contract For Jim Rutherford

01/19/2024 at 1:05pm EST

from Sportsnet,

The Vancouver Canucks are expected to announce an extension for president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman can confirm.

Friedman reports the team and Rutherford were discussing a three-year deal.

The Canucks hired Rutherford as president of hockey operations and interim general manager after clearing house in 2021, firing former GM Jim Benning, his assistant John Weisbrod and head coach Travis Green in December of that year.

After a tumultuous start of his tenure last season, going 0 for 7 to start his first full season as president, Rutherford and his hand-picked general manager, Patrik Allvin, have appeared to right the ship, bringing in their own head coach in Rick Tocchet and key new players such as Filip Hronek, Casey DeSmith, Carson Soucy and Ian Cole.

continued

Videos- Roberto Luongo Joins The Ring Of Honor In Vancouver

12/15/2023 at 2:32am EST

All Jim Rutherford

12/12/2023 at 9:24am EST

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Sportsnet: How would you characterize the last two years?

Jim Rutherford: Well, nothing surprises me because, of course, I've been around a long time. I've seen a lot of things. Obviously, we dealt with some things that we weren't expecting and we ended up making a lot of changes within hockey operations. Those are not comfortable. You know, you're dealing with people's lives and good people. But in order to make the changes and get everybody on the same path, that was something we had to do. So that was difficult. But the time has gone by pretty quick.

SN: Have you talked to your boss about a new contract?

JR: Is that my wife or son or daughter? Oh, my owner. We don't view each other as bosses, but we do make decisions as a family, so that's important. Francesco and I, we communicate on a regular basis. So, yeah, we've had some conversations about it.

SN: You hired general manager Patrik Allvin the month after you arrived, then 12 months later hired Rick Tocchet as coach. Along the way you built a new hockey-ops department. How much of the team’s turnaround is due to organizational alignment?

JR: You have to have alignment in your hockey operations, but alignment doesn't mean (you can't have) different ideas or long debates about different things that people don't agree on. That's really important. But as far as alignment, from ownership, to Patrik, to the coaches, to the players, to player development and scouting and everything else, our alignment is very strong.

more

Two Brothers Beat One In Devils Win Over The Canucks

12/06/2023 at 3:04am EST

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Tuesday, when the Hughes boys became just the ninth set of three brothers to play in the same NHL game, Jack had a goal and two assists as the Devils won 6-5.

The Devils are 6-1 against the Canucks and Jack has 13 points since he joined New Jersey, which this season added to their lineup Luke, the rookie defenceman they selected fourth overall in 2021. Like Jack, Luke scored in his first game against Vancouver on a night when Quinn, with two assists, helped push the Canucks back from a three-goal deficit in the third period.

But for all the attention on the Hughes boys, it was Jesper Bratt’s uncontested conversion of the rebound from Nico Hischier’s shot with 33.2 seconds remaining that saved the game for the Devils and left the Canucks with nothing.

“First off, get that one to OT,” Quinn Hughes told reporters after the game. “I mean, it's terrible to lose a game like that. Secondly, I think, them being up 4-1 in the first, we gave up eight shots but there were four Grade-A (chances). I don't think we played terrible, we just gave up big mistakes.”

more

Below find the game highlights.

Vancouver/Calgary Trade

11/30/2023 at 6:29pm EST

Video- Nils Hoglander Fined For Slew-Footing

11/21/2023 at 12:48pm EST

NEW YORK (Nov. 21, 2023) – Vancouver Canucks forward Nils Hoglander has been fined $2,864.58, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for slew-footing San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc during NHL Game No. 278 in Vancouver on Monday, Nov. 20, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 18:09 of the second period. Hoglander was assessed a match penalty.

Videos- Nashville Stuns Colorado And A Prince In Vancouver

11/20/2023 at 11:46pm EST

With 38 seconds left in regulation, Nashville trailed Colorado by a goal.

The Predators won in regulation.

Below, a Prince drops the puck in Vancouver.

Video- Quinn Hughes On After Hours

11/19/2023 at 4:14am EST

via the YouTube page of Sportsnet,

Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes joins Scott Oake and Dave Tomlinson on After Hours to discuss the honour of becoming the Canucks captain, how he's worked to improve his shot, being pranked by Keith Yandle, and much more

Late Evening Line -Iain MacIntyre On Quinn Hughes

11/16/2023 at 2:54am EST

Watch his GWG below.

Winning Continues For The Vancouver Canucks

11/10/2023 at 7:11am EST

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

The best two things about the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday were the points they collected for beating the Ottawa Senators 5-2.

Whatever was next best was a distant third.

Actually, the Canucks defended efficiently, limiting prime scoring chances during stretches when the Senators controlled play. But Vancouver managed only 16 shots, and were stuck at 10 six minutes into the third period.

Vancouver’s forecheck failed to cause its usual havoc, and the Canucks were certainly the second-fastest team for most of the night.

And yet, they won.

What a difference a year makes as Canucks avenge their loss with a win over SenatorsPlay VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 1:51Loaded: 8.88% Fullscreen

And they won going away, scoring three times in the final 22 minutes to extend the team’s points streak to nine games (8-0-1). This kind of a result, let alone the confidence and accountability players displayed afterward, would have been unthinkable here a year ago when the Canucks were crashing and about to turn into a fireball.

Until the last four weeks, this was a game the Canucks would probably not have won. But when you’ve already won nine of your first 12, winning No. 10 becomes a little easier – at least mentally.

continued

Game highlights are b3elow.

Opposing Coaches On The Vancouver Canucks

11/02/2023 at 8:15am EDT

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

One more note, on the surprising 6-2-1 Vancouver Canucks — one of the nice stories of the early season under new coach Rick Tocchet.

I reached out to a few of the head coaches who have faced them so far this season, and here’s what they had to say:

Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, whose team lost 5-3 to the Canucks on Oct. 21: “I thought they had an incredibly consistent game that night. You know, we don’t see them enough. We only played them twice last year. We lost (Oct. 21), it was a tie game late — they had a two-goal lead and we tied it and then lost it late. You hate losing but I wasn’t overly upset with my team because I thought they (the Canucks) played a hell of a game.

“They were good. Very, very structured. They look like they’re all on the same page. They played a very consistent game for 60 minutes.”

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, 4-3 winners over Vancouver on Oct. 19: “Well-balanced team. High-end skill surrounded by workers. The goalie gives them confidence, and the coach gets the best out of them.”

more ($) plus talking with Phil Kessel...

The Improving Vancouver Canucks Even With An OT Loss

10/29/2023 at 5:14am EDT

from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

The Vancouver Canucks have evolved so much, so quickly, that the 72 hours between their game Saturday night and the next one on Tuesday will be filled across the city with angry talk about how the home team was robbed by referees in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers.

Before this season, all that outrage and despair was generally channelled towards the team itself, which didn’t need much help from officials or anyone else in order to lose National Hockey League games.

On Saturday, a too-many-players penalty to Canuck Dakota Joshua while his team was already shorthanded led to the Rangers’ second five-on-three goal of the game and another power-play marker 63 seconds later as New York turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

And after Carson Soucy’s slapshot tied it for Vancouver with 4:18 remaining, K’Andre Miller won it for New York on a two-on-one in overtime after Canuck Elias Pettersson turned over the puck when tripped skate-on-skate by Ranger Chris Kreider.

Rangers' Miller snipes OT goal after Pettersson tripped at other endPlay VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 1:40Loaded: 9.86% CaptionsFullscreen

The too-many-men call against Joshua, who jumped on the ice (but did not seem to impact the play) when Pettersson was still well away from the bench on the penalty kill, felt harsh. The skate-on-skate contact in OT, as Pettersson was cutting back on Kreider, looked like a penalty.

But fixating on the officiating in a game when each team had six power plays obscures a larger point: Saturday was yet another test aced by the Canucks as they rebrand themselves under coach Rick Tocchet.

continued

Game highlights are below.

A Dominating Win From The Vancouver Canucks

10/28/2023 at 2:33am EDT

from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province,

Sometimes, images can get distortedd

On most nights, it easy to see why the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues are mirror images of each other. They skate hard. They forecheck with a purpose and deny the opposition seamless break-outs.

That was expected to be the plot Friday at Rogers Arena.

After all, Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet and Blues head coach Craig Berube were teammates and roommates with the Philadelphia Flyers. They share the same coaching philosophy in designing a game plan and they regularly converse.

However, a plan can look good on paper and not translate to the ice.

Whether it was the lethargic Blues leaving their legs in Calgary on Thursday, where they claimed a 3-0 victory, or the Canucks showing resolve from first puck drop, the combination resulted in a convincing 5-0 victory that stretched Vancouver’s win streak to three games and improved its record to 5-2-0.

continued

Highlights are below.

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