Liam Öhgren kept his name in the mix this week by doing what every coach loves to see: producing and refusing to leave the lineup. After sitting as a healthy scratch two weeks ago, he responded with goals in back-to-back games and now shares second on the team in goals with Jonathan Lekkerimäki, trailing only Brock Boeser.
That scoring stretch included a power play finish in Anaheim, where Öhgren continued to build chemistry with longtime linemate Marco Rossi, who came over with him from the Minnesota Wild last year. The trend carried over into the Winnipeg game as well, even in a 6-2 loss, when Öhgren still found the net for his fourth goal in his last five games. He also logged six shot attempts and posted the team’s best corsi at 73.9%, with Vancouver out-attempting Winnipeg 17-to-6 at 5-on-5 while he was on the ice.
Rossi himself had a steadier week than his season line might suggest. He’s had a rough year overall, but there were signs of life in these two games, especially against Winnipeg, where he was one of the hardest workers on the ice.
He has already surpassed his shot total from last season with Vancouver in half the number of games, and his shot on goal total jumped to seven while skating with Öhgren and Lekkerimäki. That could be enough for Manny Malhotra to give that line another look if the goal is to get Rossi back to the level people expect from him.
The week’s other standout was Jacob Quillan, the 24-year-old center acquired from the Maple Leafs organization in the Aatu Räty trade less than a month ago. He was tearing it up in Abbotsford before getting the call after Filip Chytil was placed on IR, and he wasted no time making an impression in his two games against Anaheim and Winnipeg.
Quillan brought an edge right away. Two of the five fights in the Ducks game involved him, and he showed he was willing to stand up for himself and his teammates. He also picked up his first point as a Vancouver Canuck against Winnipeg, giving the club a little more to work with from a player who looks eager to keep climbing the call sheet.
In Other News...
Three Canucks Quietly Made Their Case For Bigger Roles
In a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, three Canucks still found ways to stand out in roles that could matter down the stretch. Guillaume Brisebois, Drew O'Connor and Max Sasson each gave the coaching staff something to think about, whether it was on special teams, in the forecheck or simply by making the most of their minutes in a game where Vancouver needed more depth contributions.
Brisebois logged the most penalty-kill ice time on the team and chipped in a point, O'Connor led Vancouver in shots on goal and hits without scoring, and Sasson kept building his case with another goal while contributing at both ends of special teams play. For a club looking for reliable support beyond its top names, performances like those can be easy to overlook in the final score but hard to ignore when the lineup decisions get tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Keep Sliding After Another Frustrating Loss To Edmonton
The Canucks latest trip through Edmonton brought more of the same frustration, with the Oilers pulling away for a 4-2 win at Rogers Place. Leon Draisaitl led the way for Edmonton with two goals and an assist, while Mattias Ekholm and Jason Dickinson also found the net. Vancouver got goals from Max Sasson and Brock Boeser, but it was another night when the margin for error disappeared quickly against one of the Wests top teams.
For a club already fighting to stop the slide, the result only deepened the sense of urgency. Edmonton kept rolling at 12-3-3 and remained near the top of the Western Conference, while Vancouvers skid kept growing and the losses are starting to pile up in a way that makes every game feel heavier than the last. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Losing Streak Now Comes With A Frustrating New Debate
The Canucks slide reached five games after a 4-2 loss to the Oilers, a night that had enough encouraging moments to keep the frustration simmering. Max Sasson and Brock Boeser supplied Vancouvers goals, and Leevi Merilinen stopped 26 of 29 shots, but the result still fit the same pattern that has followed the club through this stretch: enough effort to stay in it, not enough execution to finish the job.
Manny Malhotra pointed to the small mistakes that kept tilting the game away from Vancouver, the kind of details that are easy to overlook in the moment and hard to ignore once the points are gone. For a team already trying to stop the bleeding, the debate now is not just about the loss itself, but about how many of these little breakdowns can be tolerated before they start defining the season. [Read more 🡒]