Canucks Reeling as Sharks Come to Town: Injuries, Call-Ups, and a Season on the Brink
The San Jose Sharks head into Vancouver on Tuesday night looking like a team that’s finally found its footing. Winners in nine of their last 13 games, the Sharks are no longer skating like a rebuilding squad just hoping to hang around.
They’re playing with confidence, structure, and, most importantly, results. Even when things get bumpy, they’re staying composed - a sign of a team that knows what it wants to be.
The Canucks, meanwhile, are heading in the opposite direction.
This homestand was supposed to be a reset button - a chance to regroup, rack up points, and quiet the growing noise around a team that’s been sliding for weeks. Instead, it’s only amplified the issues.
Vancouver is stuck in a brutal stretch, and while the effort is there, the execution is not. The losses are piling up, and with each one, the pressure ratchets up another notch.
Boeser Injury Casts a Shadow Over the Homestand
Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Penguins wasn’t just another tally in the loss column - it came with a gut punch in the final seconds. Brock Boeser took a hit to the head from Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust, and the aftermath quickly became the story. Rust now faces a hearing with the league, and head coach Adam Foote didn’t mince words postgame, calling it a shoulder-to-head hit and questioning Rust’s decision-making.
At the time, there was no update on Boeser’s condition, but now we know: he’s out. The Canucks placed him on injured reserve Monday, confirming he’ll miss at least the next three games. And with no clear timeline for his return, it’s a blow that cuts deeper than the box score.
Boeser’s stat line - 12 goals, 25 points - might not leap off the page, but his impact goes beyond that. He’s one of the few forwards on this roster who can generate offense without needing everything to be perfectly set up.
He drives play, he puts pucks on net, and he forces defenses to adjust. Losing that kind of presence, especially in the middle of a spiral like this, is the kind of hit that can shake a locker room.
Buium Joins Boeser on IR, Blue Line Takes Another Hit
The injury report didn’t stop with Boeser. Vancouver also placed defenseman Zeev Buium on IR, taking another piece out of a blue line that’s already been in flux all season.
Buium, acquired in the Quinn Hughes trade, has been easing into NHL life over 20 games. His minutes have been up and down, but he’s been part of the team’s effort to stabilize a back end that’s struggled to find consistency.
Now, with Buium out for at least three games, that stability takes another hit. The Canucks’ defense has been a revolving door of pairings and roles, and this just adds another layer of uncertainty to a group that can’t afford it.
Call-Ups Reflect a Team in Survival Mode
In response, the Canucks have dipped into their AHL pool, recalling defenseman Victor Mancini and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki from Abbotsford. These aren’t headline-grabbing moves, but they’re telling.
Mancini is a depth piece - steady, physical, and low-risk. He’s played nine games with the big club this season, and while he hasn’t registered a point, he’s done the little things: blocked shots, finished checks, and kept it simple.
Right now, that’s exactly what Vancouver needs. With the schedule tightening and the lineup thinning, the Canucks don’t need him to be a difference-maker - they need him to be reliable.
Lekkerimaki brings a different kind of energy. He hasn’t been with the Canucks since early December, but in his eight NHL games this season, he’s shown he can keep pace and bring some spark.
With Boeser out, Vancouver needs fresh legs and someone who can push the tempo, even in limited minutes. Whether that turns into offense is almost beside the point.
At this stage, it’s about keeping the wheels turning.
Where Do the Canucks Go From Here?
The reality is hard to ignore: Vancouver has just one win in the first five games of this eight-game homestand. They’ve gone 1-11-2 over their last 14 games. And while Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh was close, close doesn’t climb the standings.
There’s no sugarcoating it - the Canucks are in a freefall. Injuries are stacking up, confidence is slipping, and the margin for error has vanished.
This isn’t about chasing a playoff spot anymore. It’s about finding something - anything - to stabilize a season that’s threatening to come completely off the rails.
Tuesday’s matchup with the Sharks won’t be easy. San Jose is playing loose, fast, and with nothing to lose.
Vancouver, on the other hand, is playing for pride, direction, and maybe even jobs. This isn’t a must-win game in the traditional sense - that ship may have sailed - but it is a must-respond game.
The Canucks don’t need perfect hockey right now. They need resilient hockey.
They need to show they can take a punch, make a lineup work, and find a way to stop the bleeding. Because if they can’t push back against a surging Sharks team, the questions about where this season is headed won’t just get louder - they’ll start demanding answers.