The Vancouver Canucks left the week with more than just a win in Anaheim. They also carried away signs that their game is starting to come together, even if the scoreboard hasn’t fully caught up yet.
That stretch began Tuesday with a comeback that snapped a 10-game skid in dramatic fashion. Down 5-2 in Anaheim with eight minutes left, the Canucks stormed back and finished it off when Filip Hronek scored the overtime winner.
From there, the results got tighter. San Jose held off a late push and escaped with a 3-2 win, then Toronto closed out a 4-2 decision with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes.
What stood out most over those three games was the way Vancouver kept pressing. The Canucks opened strongly against the Sharks, then saw San Jose claw back late in the third period.
Against the Maple Leafs, they stayed within a goal until the final minutes. The margins were thin, but the effort level and structure were there.
Liam Öhgren was one of the week’s bright spots. The 22-year-old scored twice over his last three games, including a goal off the rush against Anaheim after Linus Karlsson found him flying down the left side.
Öhgren’s shot took a friendly bounce and found its way in. In San Jose, he cut in from the right side, moved across the middle and ripped a shot past Yaroslav Askarov.
Jonathan Lekkerimäki also delivered a big night against the Ducks, scoring twice in 49 seconds to force overtime. He logged a career-high 19:55 of ice time in that game, and his six goals now lead the team. He’s tied with Brock Boeser for second on the club with 13 points, sitting at 6-7-13.
The numbers from the week back up the idea that the Canucks are starting to string together better shifts. They outshot Anaheim 33-23, edged San Jose 25-24, and matched Toronto with 28 shots on goal.
Boeser said the group is seeing the benefits of that progress.
“Honestly, I think our team’s playing a lot better hockey as of late. That’s something we can build on,” Boeser said.
“We’re generating more shots, and our defensive game is coming along and getting better. You’ve got to look at the little things, and as long as those are improving, then we’ve got to build off of those, so, we’ve got to stick with the process here.”
Manny Malhotra’s message has been similar: keep leaning into what the team does well, and do it more often. After the loss to Toronto, he said the group understands its identity, but consistency remains the missing piece.
“We know what makes us a good team. We know what makes us a competitive team, it’s just a matter of consistently doing that,” Malhotra said after their loss to the Maple Leafs.
“It’s not close to where we need to be or where we need to get to, but there is progress there. It’s frustrating as we talk about these games loss after loss, but we do see improvement in different areas of our game, and it’s tough to see those when there’s no correlation to wins.”
Malhotra has liked the way the Canucks have moved the puck out of their own end and spent more time in the offensive zone over the past week. The next step is turning those good stretches into full games more often.
Beyond the NHL club, several Canucks prospects had productive weeks of their own. Adam Novotný put up two goals and an assist in three games, including the winner in Peterborough’s 4-3 victory over Niagara. Caleb Malhotra scored the game-winner for Boston University in a 3-2 win over Maine.
Brooks Rogowski had three assists in Oshawa’s 5-3 win over Brampton, then scored the first goal against Ottawa on the power play and added an assist in a 7-6 overtime loss on Sunday. Anthony Romani scored twice in Michigan State’s 5-3 win over North Dakota.
In goal, Aku Koskenvuo has been sharp for Kalamazoo, posting a .935 save percentage over his last three games. Riley Patterson also kept rolling for Abbotsford, scoring in both games last week. He had a goal and an assist against San Jose on Wednesday, then added another goal against Bakersfield on Friday, and he leads the league in points for U21 players.
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