The Vancouver Canucks started the New Year off with two points. Unfortunately, those two points came in the form of a shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken and an overtime defeat to the Boston Bruins.
Both games were hard-fought for the Canucks, with each game featuring Vancouver coming back from behind to force overtime. Ultimately, the Canucks were unable to seal the deal in either game and earned a single point in each contest.
The Canucks’ New Year opened at home against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night. The Canucks and Kraken met for the first time in the season less than a week prior. The first game between the border rivals was another close match that saw Vancouver pick up the shootout win.
History was soon to repeat, as the Canucks battled back from a 3-1 deficit, tying the game late in the 3rd period to force overtime. Jake DeBrusk had himself a big night, factoring on all three of Vancouver’s goals, including scoring the Canucks second on the power play.
DeBrusk almost had himself the game-winner in OT. During the Canucks 4 on 3 power play, Elias Pettersson snapped a one-timer pass to Debrusk in front of the net, who got a strong tip on the net. Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord had to squeeze every muscle in his body to stop the puck from squeaking through, lying down in the net as the puck got underneath him.
Ultimately, it would be Matty Beniers with the only goal in the shootout to give the Kraken their first win of 2026.
The Canucks hosted the Boston Bruins the following day, hoping to get their first win of 2026, but were met with another overtime loss, this time at the hands of hometown kid Fraser Minten. Minten had the first goal of the game for the Bruins in his first NHL game in Vancouver, kicking off a memorable night for the young forward.
A back-and-forth game saw the two teams trade goals in the second period, and each go scoreless in the third. Jake DeBrusk, who is certainly getting his looks, was robbed point-blank for the second time in as many days, this time by Jeremy Swayman in the middle frame.
The overtime period would last until the 20 seconds of play, when Kevin Lankinen could not completely smother a hard point shot from David Pastrnak, and Fraser Minten waiting on the doorstep, scooped up the loose puck and banged in the rebound for the game winner, and his second of the game in front of his home crowd.
These latest OT losses give the Canucks a last 10 record of 5-3-2. Certainly, there has been improvement in the overall team game from the Canucks, but old habits are creeping their way back in since Vancouver’s odd-defying 4-game win streak after trading captain Quinn Hughes. The Canucks find themselves back in 2nd-to-last place in the league, ahead of only the spiraling Winnipeg Jets.
The Canucks are now exactly halfway through their season, and are currently on their worst 82-game point pace since 2020-21, when they finished 24th in the league during the shortened Covid-19 bubble season. The Canucks will travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres Tuesday night.
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