Despite a strong effort, the Vancouver Canucks fell 4-2 to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson found the back of the net while Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 of the 24 shots. With the loss, Vancouver drops to 9-11-2 on the season and 3-6-1 at home.
Thursday night's loss was arguably one of the Canucks best performances of the year. They outshot the Stars 36-24 while going two for two on the penalty kill. Unfortunately, mistakes cost Vancouver as bad pinches and missed assignments led to four Dallas goals.
"We're competing," said Head Coach Adam Foote post-game. "I mean, we competed. We didn't quit. It seems like we've been doing that all year. As far as the resiliency, you know, it's a game of mistakes, right? Dallas had a couple as well, and it's going to happen. We were right there tonight. It was a good game."
One player who had a strong night for the Canucks was Pettersson, who extended his point streak to five games. On top of his goal, Pettersson was tied for the team lead with six shots while winning 16 of his 21 faceoffs. Post-game, Pettersson was frustrated by the result despite the team's strong effort.
"Not good enough if we lost," said Pettersson. Definitely, it's a good team over there. Definitely did enough to win. Yeah, wasn't enough today."
As for a storyline from this game, that would be the power play. While Vancouver did score with the man advantage, they went one for five and could not capitalize on a five-on-three man advantage. Post-game, Pettersson was asked about the five-on-three and said, "We had a minute-twenty. Have to get a goal there. Games like this, tight and special teams can win us the game. I know we got one on the power play, but when we get a long five-on-three, we need to get a goal."
The frustrating part of this game was the Canucks inability to get a goal during the second period. While Vancouver was the better team for most of the night, they dominated the second period, outshooting the Stars 15-6. In the end, luck was not on their side as Jake Oettinger was able to shut the door for the final 40 minutes.
After a game like the one on Thursday, the question moving forward is, can the Canucks replicate this performance? Yes, they made some costly mistakes, but overall, Vancouver played a strong game that should have resulted in a win. Unfortunately, games like this happen, as the Canucks leave Thursday night without collecting a crucial two points in the standings.
Stats and Facts:
- Elias Pettersson scores his 200th goal with the Canucks (regular season + playoffs)
- Jake DeBrusk extends his point streak to three games
- Linus Karlsson scores his second goal in the last three games
- Vancouver records over 35 shots for the third time this season
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
00:55- DAL: Mavrik Bourque (3) from Justin Hryckowian
3:06- VAN: Linus Karlsson (3)
7:44- DAL: Jason Robertson (12)
14:25- VAN: Elias Pettersson (7) from Jake DeBrusk and Kiefer Sherwood
2nd Period:
No Scoring
3rd Period:
10:47- DAL: Colin Blackwell (2) Radek Faksa from Oskar Bäck
18:29- DAL: Mikko Rantanen (10) from Jamie Benn
Up Next:
The Canucks will get a few days off before finishing up their two-game homestand against the Calgary Flames. These two teams met earlier this season, with Vancouver picking up a 5-1 home win. Game time on Sunday is scheduled for 6:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:
Looking At How These 5 New Canucks Have Performed In The First Quarter Of 2025–26
Canucks Adam Foote Provides Injury Updates On Blueger, Forbort and Höglander
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
