The Canucks arrive at this week still carrying the early sting of a four-game losing streak, and the problems are easy to spot. The goals are piling up against them, the penalty kill has unraveled, and Kevin Lankinen’s numbers have turned into the kind of line that keeps a goalie in the wrong kind of conversation.
Vancouver opened the season 2-1-0 and gave its fanbase a brief burst of hope by skating in a run-and-gun battle with the Edmonton Oilers in the home-at-home opener and then beating the Calgary Flames 4-1. Since then, the mood has flipped hard. The Canucks have been outscored 20-7 during the slide, and the underlying shot totals tell a rougher story still: they’ve been outchanced 109-63 overall and 45-27 in high-danger chances, while giving up six high-danger goals along the way.
That backdrop makes Lankinen’s start look even harsher. He enters the week with a 6.88 goals-against average, a .786 save percentage and a 1-5-0 record.
He also has three really bad starts, defined as outings with a save percentage below .850, and a goals saved above average of minus-15.1. He has flashed big saves and kept Vancouver around in games at times, but the results have been brutal, especially on clean looks from distance, including the kind he gave up against the New York Rangers.
Ty Kartye, a waiver pickup from the Seattle Kraken with only 27 career goals, should not be beating him the way Nathan MacKinnon might. Fans chasing the draft lottery have already nicknamed him Kevin “Tankinen”.
The goalie woes would be easier to absorb if the team in front of him were holding up better, but Vancouver’s defence has not done him many favors. Even with Leevi Merilainen in net at times, the Canucks have struggled to keep opponents out of dangerous areas, stop rush chances, or simply reduce the volume of shots.
The result has been ugly scoreboard math and a team that, for now, looks far less structured than what new head coach Manny Malhotra was supposed to build. It’s early, so nobody is handing out final judgments yet, but the Canucks still lead the NHL with 35 goals against, a figure that works out to five per game.
Then there’s the penalty kill, which has somehow been even harder to watch. Vancouver sits last in the league at 52 percent and has already allowed a league-high 12 power-play goals.
Opposing man advantages have moved the puck too freely, sliced through pressure, and repeatedly found the cross-crease or backdoor look that should be among the easiest chances to take away. Since this road trip began, the PK has killed only two penalties - one of them brief - for a miserable 22.2 percent success rate, and it has surrendered seven power-play goals in three games.
That’s the kind of start that needs a fast correction, especially after last season’s unit flirted with a franchise record for futility.
Not everything has gone sideways. Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Elias Pettersson, better known as D-Petey, have given the Canucks a couple of reasons to look up.
Lekkerimaki has three points in his last four games and is starting to look more and more like a top-six forward. Pettersson, meanwhile, may already be Vancouver’s best defenceman this season.
He has two goals, both highlight-reel plays, sits at plus-6 despite the team’s defensive chaos, leads the Canucks with 23 hits, and shares the team lead in shorthanded goals with Paul Cotter after his goal against the Rangers on Sunday.
Here’s the week ahead for Vancouver:
Tuesday, Oct. 13 at New York Islanders, UBS Arena, 4:45 PM PDT
Thursday, Oct. 15 at Florida Panthers, Amerant Bank Arena, 4:00 PM PDT
Saturday, Oct. 17 at Tampa Bay Lightning, Benchmark International Arena, 1:00 PM PDT
In Other News...
Canucks Send A Clear Message With Surprising Blue Line Decision
The Canucks made a noticeable change on the blue line against the Rangers, sitting Jamie Oleksiak and giving Guillaume Brisebois his first game of the season. It was the kind of lineup decision that says as much about the coaching staffs expectations as it does about the player getting the nod, especially with Manny Malhotra looking to manage both development and performance on the back end.
Brisebois got into the action quickly, finishing with two shots, two hits, a blocked shot and a penalty in 12:44 of ice time. Malhotra framed Oleksiaks night off as a chance to reset and simplify, with the emphasis on being more physical and cleaner in the breakout game, a clear reminder that the Canucks still see a specific role they want him to return to. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Road Trip Is Suddenly Exposing A Bigger Problem
The Canucks six-game road trip hit another rough patch at Madison Square Garden, where Vancouver fell 6-2 to the Rangers and saw familiar issues resurface in a hurry. Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson provided the only offense, with Pettersson even chipping in a shorthanded goal, but it was not enough to offset a night when the game tilted heavily the other way.
Kevin Lankinen was left to absorb most of the damage after allowing six goals on 25 shots, and the result only deepened the concern around how this trip is unfolding. Through the first three games, Vancouver has been outscored 17-5, a stretch that is starting to make the road trip feel less like a rough patch and more like a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]
Ty Mueller Is Forcing His Way Back Into The Canucks Conversation
Ty Mueller has wasted little time making a case for another look. The 21-year-old has opened the AHL season with the Abbotsford Canucks by producing four goals and one assist in four games, a start that has him at the top of the farm teams scoring race and back on the radar for Vancouver.
He has already seen NHL action, getting into eight games with the Canucks, but he still has not locked down a permanent spot. For that next step to come, Vancouver may need the right opening to present itself, whether through a trade or an injury, and the clubs preference to avoid shuttling younger players back and forth only makes the path more complicated. [Read more 🡒]