The Canucks started off 2025 with a road win in Seattle, picking up a 4-3 shootout dub on Thursday night. It was a night with another blown lead and shaky start, but the larger story on the day was alllllll the trade chatter surrounding the team. If you missed it, here are the highlights:
A week after blowing a three goal lead in the final five minutes of a game against the Kraken and losing, the Canucks made big improvements in blowing a two goal lead in 11 minutes and winning the game in a shootout. That was actually the first shootout win for the season for the team. A win is a win at the end of the day, and the Canucks desperately needed the two points to turn down the temperature on all the crazy chatter surrounding the team Thursday.
“It was a gutsy effort,” Tocchet said. “Obviously, you’re disappointed they tied it up, but the guys stuck together, and we got the two points.
“You take the win. It was a hard effort… for the most part we deserved it. I thought the D really was scrappy tonight.”
The team had another up-and-down performance on Thursday night. After allowing the first goal again and middling their way through the first, the team turned it around in the second and played better for the rest of the game. Goals from Sasson, a sweet breakaway from Garland, and a third from Myers should have been enough to close out the game… but Canucks gonna Canucks and the team let the Kraken back into the game late. However, they were able to collect themselves after that letdown, at least according to Myers.
“Our bench was good [after they tied it],” Myers said. “Where earlier in the year, it wouldn’t have been as good, guys were doing a good job of staying up. Games are going to go back and forth. When something bad happens, you’ve just got to stay positive.”
Bad things do happen, and they did again last night. Star goalie Thatcher Demko left the game in the second period in what seemed like a knee injury to the same knee that knocked him out last season and through part of this one… but Tocc said after the game it was merely back spasms.
“I don’t think it’s serious, but you know the way back spasms are,” Tocc said. “It could be a day or two. I’m not sure.”
Stepping in cold, Lankinen was his usual team-MVP self and made some huge saves right away to keep the team in the game. Hopefully Demko isn’t out for many games as the presumptive call up would be Silovs, and he needs the time to rebuild his game in the AHL right now. But, thankfully, the Canucks still have Lankinen at the helm.
“That’s why you prepare all day, you prepare all year, all summer,” Lankinen said. “Because you never know what’s going to happen. I’m happy the guys helped me out a little bit too. It’s a huge win for the guys.”
The team will take it, and try to shift their focus to tonight’s game against the Predators.
The larger story yesterday was clearly all the trade chatter surrounding the team. Pettersson and Miller’s name were swirling all day, with the consensus idea that the locker room was fractured beyond repair and moves were needed and the brass was fielding calls on both players. There are lots of articles written about that out there, so if you want to search for those you can. None of the players or staff addressed it after the game to the best of my knowledge, so for now it will stay in the media and social media sphere of speculation… but something has to break at some point: either a trade or Allvin/Rutherford speaking directly to the media about it.
Until either one happens, post all your trade ideas and insiders tweets and general hockey-related nonsense here:
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