January 30th, 2025
JC Clemas
I wanted to use an article to write about the pairing of Soucy - Juulsen, but after winning the game yesterday, I decided I didn’t have enough hate in my heart. Instead, I will go the positive route, and write about the Canucks’ current 3-game winning streak. Is it sad that I’m excited enough about winning 3 games in a row to write about it? Yes. But we haven’t seen a third Canucks win in a row since November 7th, so I feel I’ve earned the right to be happy.
Saturday vs Washington
After back-to-back terrible performances against Buffalo and Edmonton leading up to this game, confidence was low. It doesn’t help that Washington was going into this game without having faced a regulation loss in the new year so far, running on a 6 game win streak. The Canucks have been a great Saturday night team though, and I guess the primetime opportunity just gives them an extra pep in their step.
Our defenseman put the offense on his back again. Halfway through the first, he rifled a Sidney Crosby-esque backhander past Lindgren after skating his way right through everyone and into a prime shooting location. Shortly into the 2nd, he tallied another, throwing it on net from the point and hoping for the best. He got it.
The Canucks would add nothing else offensively in that game, but thanks to Kevin Lankinen, they didn’t need to. The Capitals did get one goal back late in the game, and of course, it was Pierre-Luc Dubois. Quinn Hughes got the last laugh this time though, as the Canucks went on to stand tall and hold onto their 2-1 lead. Sadly for Quinn, despite a 2-goal effort, the show was stolen by the Charlie Lindgren diving save, one that was eerily similar in every single way (besides glove handedness) to the Ryan Miller save against Detroit all those years ago. Even on a Saturday night, with everyone watching, Quinn Hughes still can’t get the recognition he deserves. I doubt he cares.
Monday @ St Louis
With a .970 save percentage in the game against Washington, giving Lankinen the start against St. Louis was pretty much a no-brainer. While they want to get Demko back to speed, it is simply too late in the season to not let Lankinen get the start when he’s earned it. He made the most of it, saving 24 of 26 against the Blues. I can’t believe some people (not naming names) want him traded now.
It’s nice that Filip Hronek got to assist both Hughes goals on Saturday because the pairing was split up for this game. Hughes was paired with Tyler Myers, who was returning from suspension, and Hronek was paired with Derek Forbort, creating a new top 4 for the Canucks that worked incredibly well. It doesn’t really matter who you pair with Hughes, but Myers has more than pulled his weight on that pairing the past two games. Hronek and Forbort’s styles complement each other’s well, with Hronek getting to be the primary puck mover on a pairing and Forbort getting to be a stay-at-home defenseman.
The offense clicked in this game, which was great to see, because goals have been hard to come by for the Canucks in 2025. Apparently they really like scoring when they’re on Amazon. Garland tallied two quick ones, and played his heart out to get that hat trick (he didn’t). J.T. Miller buried a power play breakaway with a snipe for his first goal in 10 games, and Suter buried a shorthanded breakaway with a snipe for his first goal in a million games (actually 24. Also, while I’m in the parenthesis, I want to mention that Suter’s defensive game is way more important than his offensive game). Tyler Myers put the game away with an empty netter, adding to his glorious assist on Suter’s goal. His return to the lineup provided the Canucks with a spark, and they capitalized on it.
Wednesday @ Nashville
This game marked the first time the Canucks played in Nashville since Pius Suter won the first-round series for the team in May. They seemed to transport themselves right back to that series in their play style. Despite collecting 10 shots in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Canucks only put together 12 shots in the last 50 minutes. This was reminiscent of the Canucks’ game 3 win against Nashville, where they got 12 shots all game and won anyway.
The Canucks’ all-Swede line of Höglander, Pettersson, and Karlsson scored both goals on Juuse Saros, with the latter player scoring the first goal of his NHL career off a beautiful feed from Tyler Myers. That line has been buzzing recently, with Höglander and Karlsson finding their spots well and allowing Pettersson to play his game. The line has been dubbed the “Swedish House Mafia” line by Alex Rickman, who threatened me at gunpoint to include that nickname in this article. Following a slightly panic-inducing defensive zone faceoff while on the power play, Pius Suter was able to put the game away with an empty netter.
The Canucks clearly don’t want to keep Thatcher Demko out of the crease for too long, because despite two straight solid Lankinen starts, Demko was given the net in Lankinen’s former arena. Demko has had a tough January. After injuring himself in the January 2nd game against Seattle, he returned to action 8 days later against Carolina, where he saved 18/20. After that, he went through a 4 game stretch of under .900 performances, including a game against LA where he let in 5 of 21 shots. Safe to say there hasn’t been a lot of confidence in his game. His performance against Nashville was a vintage Demko performance. He put the team on his back, saving 31 of 32 shots faced. For Demko’s efforts, Saros (the losing goaltender) was given 1st star.
What’s Gone Right
The main thing I want to point out here is how all of these games were won by the Canucks. In each of them, they carried a lead into the final period and were able to shut the door on the opposition. It was exactly how they won most of their games last year. Their defense, after the opposition pulls their goalie, has been stellar, and they’ve been rewarded with empty net goals against St. Louis and Nashville for their efforts. The team certainly looks a lot more “bought in” right now than they did previously, and their defensive efforts have been beautiful. They’ve really been laying it all on the line recently, the antithesis of what we’ve come to expect from them.
Standout Players
Quinn Hughes
I mean, this one’s so obvious it almost feels like cheating to talk about. I won’t stay on it long, because it’s obvious what he’s been doing. Hughes has collected 2 points in each of the Canucks’ three wins this past week. He’s finally in sole possession of first place in defensemen points, leading Cale Makar by 2 points with 6 fewer games played. It’s truly incredible when I see people suggesting that Makar deserves the Norris by a mile this season. I think those are people who live out east and have their bedtime set for before the Canucks can even start. Quinn Hughes is so far beyond Norris conversations, and if he were playing in the East, there’s no doubt the campaign for him to win the Hart would be much, much bigger.
Derek Forbort
Alright, I’ll be real, I wanted to do an entire article dedicated to Derek Forbort’s defensive play, but I figured very few people care enough to read all that. Forbort is an insanely boring player, and that’s a testament to his ability. Looking at any statistic that involves comparing offense and defense (+/-, xG%) is not the best measure when looking at Forbort’s impact, because he does not provide any offense whatsoever (he did assist Suter’s empty netter last night though). He has been so lockdown defensively, and when he’s on the ice, it’s rare that a goal is scored on either net. Forbort has the best xGA/60 on the team, and also has the worst xGF/60 on the team, which is honestly funny. He’s the kind of defenseman we need to back up Hughes and Hronek because the two of them can generate enough offense for the rest of the defense. Forbort has been spectacular on the penalty kill, has been sent out to defend the 6-on-5 in each of the past 3 games, and has been refusing to let the other team score. I don’t need him to generate offense; I need him to keep doing exactly what he’s currently doing.
The Goalies
It’s a little unfortunate how much this team relies on their goaltenders, but a win’s a win. In the current 3-game win streak, the goalies have saved 87 of 91 shots faced, good for a .956 save percentage. I’m hoping the win against Nashville gives Demko the confidence he needs to be a true number 1 goaltender again, but he doesn’t really need to fill that role right now. I feel like Demko and Lankinen splitting starts as a 1A-1B tandem is the most realistic way for the Canucks to succeed. Lankinen has shown that the team can win with him in net, and he deserves his opportunities.
Elias Pettersson and JT Miller
With Jim Rutherford’s very viral comments in his interview for The Globe and Mail, a lot of people were scared of an impending trade. I was concerned at what it meant for a Canucks team that had finally put together multiple wins in a row. After finally going back-to-back, it couldn’t have been great for morale to hear your PHO say that this group has no hope together. The efforts by Miller and Pettersson in this game suggested that those comments didn’t affect them. They really don’t seem that angry at each other on-ice. We even got one rep of the Lotto Line together late in the 2nd. Both players have a point in the past 2 games, and while they haven’t necessarily been the face of the Canucks’ victories, the team’s chances of winning clearly go up when both Pettersson and Miller produce in the same game.
Up Next
The Canucks play a difficult Dallas team on Friday, where they hope to keep the streak going. Besides some losses to the Stars last season, the Canucks have generally played the team quite well. The team has some easier matchups down the road and will need to take the opportunity to build on their current wild card standing. During their (short) win streak, the teams around them have been dropping games. Anytime Calgary, St. Louis, or Utah lose a game, it benefits us, and they’ve all been losing recently. If we can have this type of week every week for the rest of the season, I would very much like that.