Canucks Notebook: Lankinen, Silovs, Sprong, Blown Leads & More – The Hockey Writers Vancouver Canucks Latest News, Analysis & More

The Vancouver Canucks have started the season a disappointing 0-0-2 when they could easily be 2-0-0. They have had leads going into the third period in both games this season and have managed to get outscored 4-1 and squander two points. They played 20 minutes against the Calgary Flames and 40 minutes against the Philadelphia Flyers, so I guess the next is 60 minutes? That’s what fans hope will happen in Tampa Bay on Tuesday when they face the Lightning in their first road contest of 2024-25.

Related: It’s Clear the Canucks Need to Start Playing a Full 60-Minute Game

With that, let’s take a gander at the notebook from the brief two-game homestand that began the campaign.

Silovs Struggles, Lankinen Shines

Arturs Silovs got the start in the home opener and struggled in what ended as a 6-5 overtime loss to the Flames. He had trouble tracking the puck through traffic and ultimately allowed three from mid- and long-range (in other words, areas that are not designated as high-danger). These struggles are not new either as he allowed 12 of these goals (six from mid-range and six from long-range) in the playoffs, too. Head coach Rick Tocchet told the media after the game that new goalie coach Marko Torenius will work with him on that before his next start, which will likely come sometime on this road trip.

Kevin Lankinen got his first start in Canucks colours on Friday (Oct. 11), and while he finished with the same fate as Silovs, a one in the OT column, he had a strong night stopping 29 shots. He even made a highlight-reel save ala Thatcher Demko and exhibited a calmness in the crease that will be needed until the aforementioned star returns to the net. Whether he gets more starts than Silovs in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but he definitely made his presence known with his solid performance against the Flyers.

Elias Pettersson started the season with two new linemates in Jake DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong. On paper, it looked like it could be a dangerous and productive trio. However, two games in, it has been anything but. According to Natural Stat Trick, they have a 39.13 Corsi for percentage (CF%) and have only generated five scoring chances and one high-danger chance in 11:54 of ice time at five on five. Tocchet has severely limited their time at even strength and even benched Sprong in the third period of both the Flames and Flyers games. Over two games, he has seen six shifts in the third period, with the low point coming on Friday when he only saw two.

Overall, they saw the lowest amount of even-strength ice time, coming in at only 3:55 compared to 7:24 for Nils Hoglander, Aatu Raty, and Conor Garland, and 8:25 for Kiefer Sherwood, Teddy Blueger, and Pius Suter. After the game, Tocchet answered a question about that deployment, saying “Blueger’s line deserved to play more.” This was true, considering they generated 11 scoring chances and Pettersson’s line only had two. Clearly, after two games, this combo isn’t working. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Garland or Hoglander alongside Pettersson and DeBrusk when the puck drops on Tuesday against the Lightning.

Blown Leads Reminding Fans of the Nightmare That Was October 2022

Fans are probably getting a bad case of deja vu right now. In 2022-23, the Canucks started the season against the Edmonton Oilers and quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to lose 5-3. Then, they played the Flyers and again grabbed a quick 2-0 lead, and eventually lost 3-2. The only difference, they lost both in regulation rather than going to overtime and getting a point. So, I guess the Canucks are in a better position now with two points after two games, but the fact remains, the trend of blowing leads was present in both instances.

Hopefully, the trend stops there, and the Canucks don’t repeat it for a third time on Tuesday. As most fans remember, they continued it against the Washington Capitals when they had a 4-2 lead going into the third and lost 6-4 (setting a bad NHL record in the process), and against the Columbus Blue Jackets when they had a 2-0 lead and lost 4-3 in overtime. All told, they blew leads in all but four games that month and didn’t get their first win until Oct. 27, finishing with an abysmal 2-5-2 record. The good thing is, that team was way different personnel and coaching-wise, so, let’s hope it’s only a two-game nightmare, not a nine-game one.

Three Stars of the Week

1. Conor Garland

Garland only has one goal, but he’s been hands-down the Canucks’ best forward so far this season. He has been his usual tenacious self along the boards, refusing to be knocked out of the play, and hounding everyone with his forechecking skills. Individually at five-on-five, he has the second-most scoring chances (six) to the leader Blueger (seven), and three high-danger chances, second only to Blueger’s five. He also leads the team in individual shot attempts with 11 and is in a three-way tie with Blueger and Kiefer Sherwood in actual shots with four. All in all, he’s been excellent and continues to play well beyond his stature at a listed 5-foot-10 (when we all know he’s closer to 5-foot-8).

2. Quinn Hughes

Quinn Hughes gets the second star of the week for his efforts against the Flames alone when he saved the game with a blocked shot and set up the tying goal by JT Miller. He didn’t have his best game against the Flyers, but that’s to be expected when you play a career-high 31:29. He skated miles in that game – literally. According to NHL EDGE, he skated 4.54 miles, which is surprisingly not the furthest he’s skated in his career. That came back in 2021-22 when he skated 4.69 miles on Jan. 29, 2021, in 31:07 of ice time against the Flames.

3. Brock Boeser

The third star goes to the Brockstar. He started his 2024-25 season with a bang by scoring two goals against the Flames and could have had a couple more in his second game against the Flyers if not for some lucky saves by Samuel Ersson. The one-timer that basically just hit his glove, and the quick turnaround shot that caught the corner of his pad could have easily gone in if Lady Luck was on the side of the shooter rather than the goalie.

What’s Next For the Canucks?

After two disappointing losses in extra time at home, the Canucks now embark on a four-game road trip that will see them play the Lightning, Florida Panthers, Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks. They will then return to Vancouver for a brief three-game homestand against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Rod Brind’Amour’s Carolina Hurricanes, and Jack Hughes’ New Jersey Devils. Hopefully, once that homestand begins, they will have a few wins, or hands might be closer to the panic button than they are right now.