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Red Wings 5, Canucks 2: Shotless, juiceless as funk deepens

'It's so many games left, and we can't be just laying down and die. It's gonna be hard. That's where the compete starts' — Canucks winger Linus Karlsson post-game

Published Oct 22, 2026  •  Last updated 1 day ago  •  4 minute read

Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings takes a shot on Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen during the third period at Rogers Arena on Thursday night. The Red Wings won 5-2. Photo by Jeff Vinnick /NHLI via Getty Images

The emotional toll of losing nine in a row is pretty much unquantifiable.

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Rebuilds are going to be tough — but did you think it would be this tough?

Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings, for the first time since Jan. 26, 2017 the Vancouver Canucks managed to go an entire period without recording a shot. In 2017, it was the first period against the Arizona Coyotes.

Imagine opening a game without a single shot?!

On Thursday, it was the second period, a truly bizarre spectacle at The Rog, with the Canucks actually starting the period with a couple really good shifts.

And then nothing. Truly, nothing.

They had a rush here and there, but the telling one was late in the period, where Drew O’Connor burst down the left wing, Elias Pettersson, the forward, rushed to the net but rather than try to just create a mess for Pettersson to skate on to, O’Connor carried the puck to the corner and … just nothing happened.

It was at that point that you got a feeling that maybe, just maybe, everything was really getting to this team.

It’s the deepest funk you’ve ever seen a team in.

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They didn’t get another shot until 6:16 of the third, going nearly two full periods between shots: it was Jake DeBrusk, for the record, who finally hit the net. And that shot drew some cynical cheers from the crowd. Indeed, the shots that followed did, too.

Post-game, winger Drew O’Connor said the fans were right to cheer as they did.

“It’s well deserved,” he said. “We didn’t give them enough to cheer about.”

You do feel for these guys. They are up against it every night. But they need to find some way out of this. They need to press harder than they have, they need to just create chaos in front of the other team’s goal.

They look so gun-shy, so afraid to make something happen. What they had to start the year was heart and hustle. They need to find that again.

Linus Karlsson said what the team needed in their putrid second period was more poise, that as the clock was winding down and the doughnut was still sitting there, he felt his teammates got anxious and started taking shot attempts they shouldn’t be taking.

“You can’t just shoot it just because we don’t have any shots on net,” he said. “Like, we can’t just shoot it. I think that’s a little bit what happened. Like we just shot the puck just to shoot it. Sometimes you need some poise, make another play, and sometimes you need to shoot the puck. You have to find the confidence. The confidence to make plays … and find the best shooting lanes.”

Karlsson sees what is still ahead, that they can’t get stuck looking at what’s gone past. They do need to find their juice again and that is in practice, in how they prepare.

“It’s so many games left, and we can’t be just laying down and die,” he said. “It’s gonna be hard. That’s where the compete starts and then bring it to the games and be ready for a start. I mean, we let in two goals before the five minute mark. It’s not good enough.”

Pettersson’s goal in the first gave the Canucks some hope after they fell behind 2-0 early. It was a vintage power play one-timer, nicely set up by Filip Hronek.

And for much of the night Pettersson did have some jump to his game, he did rush the puck up the ice, he did try to lead the way.

But those efforts were all forgotten by the third, after the ineptness of the rest of the Canucks’ game.

You couldn’t fault Lankinen on the third goal, a lost battle in front on the penalty kill. Those happen.

But he lost his net on the opening tip goal by Lucas Raymond, and was caught swimming on the second goal by William Wallinder.

And he fell over for the fifth goal, a Keystone Kops moment for a goalie who just has no confidence in his game right now.

“When you’re in a situation like this, you gotta take ownership both individually and collectively reflect and try to get better,” Lankinen lamented.

“I can just focus on my own position, my own department. Not trying to save the world. The only thing I can do is do my best and stop the puck. And if there’s anything I can do to get better, for sure I’ll obviously do everything I can to help the team win.”

Asked if he was guilty of trying to save the world, he said it was a common issue right now.

“I think we’re all guilty about the situation where we’re at,” he replied. “I think you can’t really blame one guy or anybody. We’re here together. We’re as a collective group, as a team. We’re in it together. So that’s the way out of it too.”

“It’s been built through the draft and at some point you have to harvest your fruit,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said after the game. His team was led by the likes of Lucas Raymond, who is in his prime at 24.

Detroit dressed four players 22 and under — and then there was backup goalie Michal Postava, who is 24 but made his NHL debut in the third period, subbing in for John Gibson who left the game because he “had something in his eye,” according to the team.

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