It was a gutsy performance for the Vancouver Canucks tonight, as they have officially won their second game in as many days with a 3–2 shootout victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. Jake DeBrusk and Max Sasson scored in regulation, while Brock Boeser was the lone scorer in the shootout. Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves on 33 shots faced, stopping all four of Chicago’s shootout attempts.
The biggest talking point heading into tonight’s game was who would step up to challenge Jason Dickinson after his dirty hit knocked Filip Chytil out for the rest of the 2024–25 season. While no players actually ended up going after Dickinson, as many thought would happen, Vancouver took three penalties in the first period. There was also a goaltender interference call that went missed, which ultimately led to a goal for Chicago after Tyler Bertuzzi fired the puck home from in front of the net.
The night before, Vancouver shifted some pieces of their power play, putting Conor Garland on their first unit. The Canucks scored in two of their three man-advantages during that game and extended the goal-scoring streak tonight. Vancouver converted on their first full two-minute power play of the game after throwing the puck on net and jamming away at it, giving DeBrusk his third career birthday goal. While the power play looked lethal throughout the rest of the game, it was unable to capitalize on two opportune chances with five minutes left in the third period.
One line that generated lots of chatter last night was the unit of Arshdeep Bains, Sasson, and Linus Karlsson — otherwise known as the “Calder Cup” line. The forwards continued their solid presence on the ice from the night before, putting in the extra work to win battles along the board and help Vancouver regain possession at various points in time. Their biggest shift of the game set up the team’s tying goal, netting Sasson his fourth goal in his fourth straight game at both the NHL and AHL level.
“It’s something that we’ve talked about probably for two and a half years now, down there [in Abbotsford], to one day be in the NHL and helping out this team,” Sasson said postgame of him and his linemates. “I feel really comfortable with them. They feel comfortable with me. We’re all super close off the ice. We’ve played probably 100-150 games together. We find each other. We know where each other are. We’re dependable, and it’s working.”
This was Vancouver’s first back-to-back of the 2025–26 season, which allowed fans their first look at how the Lankinen and Thatcher Demko tandem will operate in these scenarios. Off the heels of a stellar performance by Demko, Lankinen pitched in his own impressive effort in the team’s shootout win. He stopped nine straight shots during the first half of the first period including a break for Chicago. In overtime, he had a miraculous stretch save to stop a 2-on-1 for the Blackhawks.
It was all Vancouver during overtime, as the Canucks controlled play for the majority of the extra frame. Elias Pettersson had a beautiful chance close in on Spencer Knight, though the Blackhawks goalie sprawled out on the puck to prevent the Canucks forward from tucking it behind him. It was ultimately Boeser who gave Vancouver the win tonight, scoring in round four of the shootout to help the Canucks win their first set of back-to-back games since January 2024.
Stats and Facts:
- Jake DeBrusk scores a goal on his 29th birthday, the fifth NHL point he has tallied on October 17
- Canucks win both back-to-back games for the first time since January 2024 (vs. the New York Rangers and New York Islanders)
- Canucks extend win streak against the Blackhawks to 11 straight games
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
12:41 – CHI: Ryan Donato (2) from Andre Burakovsky and Artyom Levshunov (PPG)
19:14 – CHI: Tyler Bertuzzi (2) from Sam Rinzel
2nd Period:
6:48 – VAN: Jake DeBrusk (1) from Conor Garland and Quinn Hughes (PPG)
13:42 – VAN: Max Sasson (2) from Filip Hronek and Linus Karlsson
3rd Period:
No scoring.
Overtime:
No scoring.
Shootout Winner:
Brock Boeser
Up Next:
Vancouver will play in their third game in four straight days on Sunday in an early-morning tilt with the Washington Capitals. The Canucks won their last matchup against the Capitals by a score of 2–1, during which defenceman Elias Pettersson made his NHL debut. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 am PT and will be available on Sportsnet.
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