The Vancouver Canucks’ 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night had a little bit of everything: a strong first outing in net, a heavyweight response from the back end and another busy, eye-catching night from Elias Pettersson.
Leevi Meriläinen picked up his first win with Vancouver and settled in well enough to make it count. The 24-year-old stopped 23 shots, with 13 of those saves coming over the final 40 minutes.
His best moment came late in the second period, when he robbed Zayne Parekh on a three-on-one rush. It wasn’t instant comfort for Meriläinen, but once he found his rhythm, he started flashing the athleticism that had people calling him one of the top goaltending prospects just a few years ago.
He looked composed in the second and third periods and gave Vancouver a solid first start in a Canucks sweater.
Luke Schenn made sure the Flames knew they were in a fight. He dropped the gloves with Adam Klapka in the first period and nearly went at it with him again in the second.
Schenn finished with three hits and 17 penalty minutes, but his impact went beyond the box score. He was the first Canuck to jump in whenever someone tried to take liberties with a teammate, and that kind of edge continues to matter for this group.
The crowd at Rogers Arena let him know it too, with a “Luke, There It Is” chant rolling through the building in the second period.
Then there’s Elias Pettersson, who has started the 2026-27 season in a way almost nobody would have predicted. For the second straight game, he led Vancouver with eight hits, and his 16 through three games put him atop the league in that category.
He also added an assist, bringing his point total to five on the young season. Pettersson has looked fearless, throwing open-ice hits, winning faceoffs at a strong clip and playing with the kind of confidence that had seemed to drift away.
If this keeps up, the “Petey is back” talk is going to get harder and harder to argue with.
In Other News...
Flames Loss In Vancouver Exposed A Familiar Problem Again
Vancouvers win over Calgary had the kind of hard-edged, scrappy feel that tends to reveal a teams habits as much as it rewards them. The Canucks leaned into a physical, patchy game and got important work from Leevi Merilinen in goal, where his calm, effective presence helped steady things when the pace got choppy. Schenn and others brought the sort of straight-ahead physicality that can tilt a matchup like this, especially when both sides are grinding for every loose puck.
Still, the game also looked familiar in one area the Canucks would probably rather not revisit. Even with the result going their way, the power play struggled badly throughout the night, and it remained the one part of the performance that did not match the rest of the effort. For a team trying to build on wins like this, the frustration is that the margin for error gets thinner when a familiar weakness keeps showing up in the same moments. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Blue-Line Trouble Just Made This Trade Rumor More Interesting
The early-season picture around the Vancouver Canucks has only made one of the leagues lingering trade ideas feel a little more complicated. Elias Pettersson has gotten off to a strong start and given the organization something to think about at a time when every conversation about the roster seems to come with a bigger strategic question attached, especially with the Canucks trying to sort out where they stand in the longer view.
Ottawas injury situation on the blue line adds another layer to the chatter. With Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson both out, the Senators have a real need on defense and could be pushed toward exploring the market, which is why a name like Simon Edvinsson is suddenly worth watching after reports that contract talks with Detroit have stalled and he would rather be moved than sign a new deal. For Vancouver, it is one more reminder that the trade board around the league is starting to shift in ways that could eventually spill over into their own decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Let A New Canucks Goalie Settle In Too Easily
Leevi Merilainen did not need long to make himself at home in Vancouver. Claimed off waivers from Ottawa late last month, the 22-year-old got his first start for the Canucks and turned in a calm, poised effort in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames, stopping 23 shots while drawing praise from teammates and coach Manny Malhotra. It was exactly the kind of settling-in performance Vancouver was hoping for from a goalie still early in his new opportunity.
Merilainen had already logged 12 NHL games with the Senators in 2024-25, but this one felt like an important first impression in a different sweater. Calgary did not make it easy, yet the newcomer never looked rattled, and the Canucks were able to build around that steadiness as the night went on. For a club that is always watching its goaltending depth closely, this was the sort of debut that invites a longer look. [Read more 🡒]