Vancouver sports fans are already feeling the ripple effects of B.C. staying on its clocks while most of North America shifted out of daylight saving time over the weekend.
The biggest change shows up in the viewing window. NFL Sunday now kicks off at 11 a.m. instead of 10 a.m., and Monday Night Football has moved up to 6 p.m. The Saturday hockey slate is changing too, and that means the Canucks’ schedule is about to look a little different for the next few months.
Saturday Night Hockey, which used to be known as Hockey Night in Canada, has traditionally started at 4 p.m. in Vancouver, with the second game following at 7 p.m. That setup is gone for now.
The Canucks’ game in Edmonton on Saturday starts at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, which works out to 9 p.m. in Alberta. It’s a late one for both sides, and it’s the kind of start time fans will need to get used to for nationally televised games, whether the Canucks are at home or on the road, until the rest of the continent returns to daylight saving time on March 14.
That shift also changes the feel of home dates. Twelve of Vancouver’s next 26 home games will begin later than 7 p.m., a schedule wrinkle this market doesn’t usually see. And for fans following road games from home, there’s now the possibility of later starts in Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Vegas, all of which sit one hour behind B.C.
There is a silver lining for Canucks fans watching Eastern Conference matchups. The old 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekday starts are gone. Those games are now set for 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m., since Vancouver is only two hours behind cities like Toronto and New York.
The later clock also pushes back a couple of major events on the calendar. The Grey Cup on Nov. 15 is set for 4 p.m., and the Super Bowl on Feb. 8 will begin at 4:30 p.m. - both one hour later than usual.
In Other News...
Canucks Fans Are Already Facing The Rebuild Question They Dread
A rough start has already pushed the Canucks back into a conversation nobody in Vancouver wanted to revisit this early, with the club sitting near the bottom of the standings after a losing streak. When a season goes sideways this quickly, the focus naturally shifts from chasing points to wondering how long the pain lasts and what the next competitive core is supposed to look like.
One name that keeps surfacing in that larger rebuild discussion is Landon DuPont, whose early college hockey work has only added to the buzz around his long-term upside. Some analysts are already putting lofty draft projections on the defenseman and drawing speculative comparisons to Cale Makar, which is the kind of chatter that can energize a fan base even as it underscores just how far away the real answers still are. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Keep Sliding After Another Frustrating Loss To Edmonton
The Canucks latest trip through Edmonton brought another familiar result, as they fell 4-2 at Rogers Place and watched Leon Draisaitl steer the Oilers with two goals and an assist. Mattias Ekholm and Jason Dickinson also scored for Edmonton, while Max Sasson and Brock Boeser supplied Vancouvers offense in a game that again left the Canucks chasing from behind against one of the Western Conferences top teams.
For Vancouver, the bigger concern is the slide itself. The loss was the clubs fifth straight, and the standings continue to reflect how far the season has drifted off course at 3-15-1. Edmonton, meanwhile, keeps piling up points and looking every bit like a team built to stay near the top, which only sharpens the contrast for a Canucks group still searching for any kind of reset. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Make Another Lineup Shakeup For Heated Oilers Matchup
The Canucks are making another round of lineup tweaks for a matchup that already carries plenty of edge against Edmonton. Tom Willander will sit out for a third straight game even after joining the team for practice, leaving Vancouver to shuffle its defensive pairings again as it tries to settle things down on the back end.
Up front, Arshdeep Bains is getting a look on the top line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, a notable change for a group still searching for the right mix. In goal, Leevi Merilinen is slated to start for the second game in a row, giving Vancouver a familiar option as it heads into another test against the Oilers. [Read more 🡒]