Vancouver Canucks’ 3 Stars of November – The Hockey Writers Vancouver Canucks Latest News, Analysis & More

The Vancouver Canucks had an 8-5-0 record in November, with six of the eight wins coming on the road where they are a stellar 9-2-0. Currently, after the very key watermark of American Thanksgiving, they are fourth in the Pacific Division with a record of 12-7-3 for 27 points, occupying the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Related: Kevin Lankinen Is Saving the Canucks’ Season

November was an eventful month when it came to injuries as the Canucks lost Brock Boeser for seven games, JT Miller to a leave of absence, and most recently, Filip Hronek to an upper-body injury that could keep him “out a while”. On the positive side, Dakota Joshua returned on Nov. 14, and Thatcher Demko is expected to make his season debut early in December – possibly in the next two games of this road trip. Overall, the team had to overcome a lot of adversity missing two-thirds of their top line at times, their second-best defenceman, and even Quinn Hughes for almost an entire game when he was tossed against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 23.

The “next man up” mentality was in full force, as several players stepped into the spotlight and carried the team to eight victories. So, without further ado, here are the three stars of November.

This trio was so phenomenal in November that they deserve a shoutout before we get to the actual three stars. Jake DeBrusk (seven goals and 11 points), Elias Pettersson (six goals and 14 points), and Kiefer Sherwood (four goals and seven points) combined for 17 goals and 32 points in 13 games and became the de facto top-line once Miller and Boeser exited the lineup. Teaming up with the following triumvirate, they kept the Canucks above water amidst all the injuries and could be considered one of the best lines in hockey right now.

Third Star: Kevin Lankinen

Despite a few underwhelming starts in November, I am giving the third star to Kevin Lankinen, who has filled in more than admirably for Demko as the starter this season. He grabbed his ninth (!) win on the road against the Sabres on Friday and now sits a perfect 9-0-0 away from Rogers Arena. His stats are otherworldly as well, logging a 1.77 goals-against average (GAA), .938 save percentage (SV%) and two shutouts. The only reason why his overall stats aren’t Vezina Trophy caliber is because of his performances at home. Like his team, they are night and day, with a 3.64 GAA and .872 SV%, highlighted by a bad outing against the Edmonton Oilers where he allowed seven goals.

Black Friday savings brought to you by Kevin Lankinen. pic.twitter.com/sLNMpvgtjo

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 29, 2024

But, Lankinen has since bounced back from that performance and still finished the month with a 7-3-0 record. The highlights of course came on the road where he made 32 saves against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 26 for his second shutout of the season, and the show-stopping save in overtime on Tage Thompson shortly before Garland iced it at the other end. He has been a revelation for the Canucks this season, and if all goes right with Demko’s return to the lineup, could form another Roberto Luongo-Cory Schneider tandem in the near future. Hopefully this time, however, they win the Stanley Cup instead of just making it to the Final.

Second Star: Quinn Hughes

Now one helper away from passing Alex Edler and becoming the franchise leader in assists by a defenceman, the Canucks’ captain was his usual dominant self in November. The defending Norris Trophy winner scored three goals and 17 points in 13 games, notching his 300th career assist on Nov. 5 against the Anaheim Ducks, becoming the third-fastest defenceman in NHL history to do so. He did it in 376 games, outpacing the legendary Paul Coffey (377 games) and behind only Bobby Orr (346) and Brian Leetch (368).

After Cale Makar jumped out to a big lead in the point race, Hughes has narrowed the gap to seven points and now sits second in defence scoring with 25 points. He is well on his way to another Norris Trophy and only needs 82 points to pass Edler for the franchise lead among defencemen. If he has a few more 17-point months like he had in November, he should do it before the end of the season.

First Star: Conor Garland

Conor Garland has been a beast all season long and continued his hallmark campaign in November with another five goals and 14 points. He is now up to eight goals and 21 points in 22 games and is on pace for a career-high 30 goals and 78 points. The most he’s had for goals in his career is 22, set back in 2019-20 with the Arizona Coyotes. He’s been the heartbeat of the Canucks since day one of 2024-25 and could be considered one of the MVPs of the team at this point.

Garland became a new dad on Nov. 20, shortly after the Canucks lost 4-3 to the New York Rangers at home. Since then, he has had three goals and seven points in four games and is currently riding a seven-game point streak with four goals and 10 points in that span. He also scored the overtime winner against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday deftly backhanding the puck between his legs after Hughes danced his way to the left faceoff dot and shot it into the crease. This was after a shot-block assist on Pius Suter’s eighth of the season and a one-timer on the power play earlier in the game, capping off a three-point night and solidifying his spot as the first star of November.

What Does December Have In Store for the Canucks?

After finishing their current six-game road trip in Minnesota on Tuesday, the Canucks will return home for yet another six-game homestand. The last one didn’t go so well, as they ended up with a disappointing 2-4-0 record. Hopefully, they can transfer their road game back to Vancouver this time and string some wins together to get their record back above .500. Last season, victories were almost inevitable, but this season not so much as they hold a very underwhelming 3-5-3 record on home ice after going 27-9-5 in 2023-24.

They will need their three stars of November and the DPS line to continue their dominance in December – especially at Rogers Arena as nine of the 14 games will be in front of their home fans.