After starting the season 0-1-2, the Vancouver Canucks have reeled off two wins in a row and now sit at a more respectable 2-1-2. They have seemingly figured things out and are playing more like the team that won 50 games last season and finished atop the Pacific Division. With Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on the horizon, they could finish their first road trip of the season 3-1-0 and return home to Rogers Arena three wins better than they left it.
Myers Dishes a Highlight-Reel Assist In 1,000th Game
Tyler Myers hit a major career milestone against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday when he skated in his 1,000th game. He became the 400th player in NHL history to do so and the eighth in franchise history to do it in a Canucks jersey joining Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Markus Naslund, Trevor Linden, Dave Babych, Ryan Walter, and Pit Martin. And to top it off, he recorded a beauty of an assist in the second period when he made a no-look pass between the legs to Brock Boeser who backhanded it into an empty net for his third of the season.
Myers has played for three teams throughout his 16-season career and is on the cusp of playing more games in the blue and green than he did for the team that drafted him. He played his 365th with the Canucks on Sunday, which tied him for the amount he played with the Sabres.
Related: Tyler Myers’ Path to 1,000 Career Games
Myers has had an up-and-down career with the Canucks since he signed his initial five-year deal in 2019. He was even given the nickname “chaos giraffe” for his questionable defensive game and lack of discipline. But ever since Rick Tocchet, Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar came into the picture behind the bench, he has shed that nickname and become a very steady and reliable presence in the top four. So much so that he is part of a trusted shutdown pairing alongside Carson Soucy – a pair that went toe-to-toe with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the 2024 Playoffs.
After signing a three-year extension in the offseason, Myers will likely retire as a Canuck. Despite not becoming the elite offensive threat that he flashed during his Calder Trophy season in 2009-10, he has moulded himself into a reliable two-way defenceman capable of playing in all situations. I for one am happy Patrik Allvin re-signed him, and that he was able to hit this milestone wearing Canucks colours.
Hoglander-Pettersson-Garland Line Shines Against the Flyers
Tocchet has been playing around with his top six ever since the beginning of the season. He has kept the duos of JT Miller and Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk together and cycled in Arshdeep Bains, Danton Heinen, Daniel Sprong, Nils Hoglander, and Conor Garland as the third winger. But on Saturday, he broke away from one of his duos and aligned DeBrusk with Miller and Boeser and Pettersson with Hoglander and Garland.
The latter worked out beautifully as the trio connected on a pretty three-way passing play that resulted in the first goal of the game. Garland started the play with his trademark tenacity on the boards, working hard to get the puck to Filip Hronek at the point and then fighting for it after he returned it to him behind the net, where he set up Pettersson with a no-look pass. Pettersson then dished it over to Hoglander for a tap-in that Samuel Ersson had no idea was coming.
That was just the first of many shifts where they looked dangerous as a line. According to Natural Stat Trick, they out-chanced the Flyers 6-2 and finished with an impressive 61.11 Corsi For percentage (CF%). If this game was any indication of how good of a combo they could be in the long run, fans will be in for a treat when they return to Rogers Arena next week.
Lankinen Speeds Ahead of Silovs Early in the Season
Kevin Lankinen got his second straight start on Saturday and further solidified his spot as the Canucks’ starting goaltender. After posting his first shutout in his third game, he has a sparkling 1.28 goals-against average (GAA) and .953 save percentage (SV%) along with a 2-0-1 record. His only blemish is a shootout loss to the same Flyers he just blanked, where he only allowed two goals in regulation. He has brought a calming presence to the crease in the absence of Thatcher Demko and could form a Linus Ullmark-Jeremy Swayman-type tandem when Demko eventually returns to the net.
“I’m feeling comfortable, feeling confident…The guys have been really great at welcoming me and making me feel good and comfortable around everybody. This team, just how good it is, it’s fun to play behind it and the guys we have here just prove it every single night.” – Kevin Lankinen after shutting out the Flyers 3-0
The Canucks entered the season with a lot of question marks when it came to their goaltending. Lankinen has come in and answered them with a massive exclamation mark, filling the hole left by Demko when he couldn’t start the season due to the lingering injury suffered in the 2024 Playoffs. Tocchet has taken note of his success over the last three starts and is seemingly planning to ride him – even though he didn’t commit to starting him against the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
“He’s playing great, I gotta play the guy,” Tocchet said with a smile. “I like his composure, he’s good at coming out and stopping pucks, that’s a big factor for us.”
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like it’s Lankinen’s net for now. Silovs hasn’t pushed back with his performances so far, posting an ugly 4.50 GAA and .827 SV% in two starts, making it an easy decision to ride the veteran for as long as possible.
Canucks Have Found Another Joshua in Sherwood
Lankinen isn’t the only newbie making noise lately. It took Kiefer Sherwood four games to make his first mark in the goal column, but he’s been providing a large amount of physicality and Alex Burrows-like prickliness to the lineup ever since his first game. He got that first tally against the Flyers with a quick shot off a faceoff win by Teddy Blueger and led the hit parade with nine hits. He now leads the league with 32 in five games and is already turning out to be another astute signing by Allvin.
In fact, it’s looking similar to when Allvin grabbed Dakota Joshua from the St. Louis Blues a few years ago. He first established himself as a physical presence in the bottom six, and then became a versatile winger that could not only hit, but score as well. If Sherwood can do the same over his two-year contract, the Canucks will have two hitting machines capable of throwing up 300-plus hits a season.
Brannstrom & Desharnais Could Turn Into Ideal Bottom-Pairing
Erik Brannstrom and Vincent Desharnais were an effective pairing for the second game in a row. In 19:14 of even-strength ice time together, they have a respectable 51.72 CF% and the Canucks have out-chanced their opponents 7-5 along with generating two high-danger scoring chances. Lankinen also has not allowed a goal with them on the ice.
Considering how much the Desharnais-Derek Forbort pairing struggled before Desharnais was a healthy scratch (31.58 CF%; out-chanced 4-1), Tocchet must be loving this new development. He said as much in his media availability after the Flyers game: “I thought they played really well, me and [Adam Foote] talked before the game, I said ‘we got to get them some ice time’…I thought we got them out there at the right time…they fed off each other…they could be a good pair for us.”
Miller Injured Against Flyers
JT Miller was seemingly injured during the opening faceoff against the Flyers. He went to the dressing room for a few minutes and returned to the game, but didn’t take a single faceoff instead deferring to Boeser or DeBrusk. Tocchet said after the game that he was dealing with some stuff and they didn’t want him to take any more draws. Hopefully, the two days’ rest will do him some good and he will be able to do everything he normally does when the Canucks face the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
What’s Next For the Canucks?
The Canucks will head to the Windy City to take on the Blackhawks in their final game of the road trip on Tuesday. Note the start time, 5:15 pm PT. They will then return home to face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins for a brief three-game homestand starting on Saturday.
