Canucks Can’t Stop Anaheim’s Punches And Power-Play Goals, Lose 5–4 To The Ducks

The Vancouver Canucks were only one goal away from potentially repeating results from exactly one week ago. After winning 6–5 in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks last Tuesday, the Canucks suffered a 5–4 comeback loss against the Ducks tonight. Jake DeBrusk led the way for Vancouver with two goals, with Liam Öhgren and Linus Karlsson also finding the back of the net. Kevin Lankinen started his first game since a 5–2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on October 22, stopping 17 of 22 shots faced.  

Tonight’s game was undoubtedly the scrappiest the Canucks have experienced during the 2026–27 season. A total of five fights took place tonight — two for Quillan, one for Jamie Oleksiak, one for Max Sasson, and one for Paul Cotter. This was the first time since 2014 that Vancouver registered five fighting majors in one game.    

Anaheim’s special teams looked as though they would give the Canucks a hard time coming into tonight’s matchup, having scored nine power-play goals in their past four games prior to today. As expected, the Ducks cashed in on the power play three different times tonight. Two of these power-play goals came during the first period — once after Jacob Quillan took a tripping penalty, and once more after Öhgren was called for a hook. The Ducks weren’t the only ones to find the back of the net on a first-period man-advantage, however, as Vancouver’s second-unit tied the game up at one goal apiece two minutes after Anaheim’s first tally. 

Vancouver nearly took a 2–1 lead before Anaheim’s second goal of the game, with this also thanks to none-other than Öhgren. The forward flew up the ice, battling with Ducks defenceman Jackson LaCombe as he advanced on Laurent Brossoit. After managing to gain control over the puck mid-break, Öhgren shot the puck into Anaheim’s net, but the goal was called-off as the Canucks forward was called for a hook while heading up-ice with LaCombe. 

The Ducks’ special-team success continued during the second period. Anaheim’s penalty-kill took advantage of Vancouver’s inability to set the puck up and keep it in the O-zone, turning the play into an odd-man rush for Anaheim. It was Leo Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov who combined to give the Ducks a shorthanded goal and their third overall tally in tonight’s game. Later, Cutter Gauthier scored his second goal of the night on Anaheim’s third power play of the game. 

The power-play goals didn’t stop there. In the third period, it was Vancouver’s time to find the back of the net while on the man-advantage, doingso after Gauthier scored his third goal of the night and logging his second hat trick within the span of a week. DeBrusk scored Vancouver’s second power-play goal of the night after accepting a pass from Elias Pettersson. 

Despite playing relatively well at even-strength throughout the night, things really started to take a turn for Vancouver after DeBrusk’s power-play goal. Less than five minutes after DeBrusk’s goal, Jamie Oleksiak threw a shot on net, with the puck bouncing off DeBrusk and in. 

The Canucks pressed hard after that, looking especially dangerous after pulling Lankinen and going 6-on-5 for the final two minutes of the game. Though they had a handful of close chances, mainly off long shots tipped by Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Vancouver was unable to complete the miraculous comeback they’d produced against the exact same team one week prior. 

1st Period: 

4:04 - ANA: Mikael Granlund (4) from Beckett Sennecke and Jackson LaCombe (PPG) 

6:04 - VAN: Liam Öhgren (5) from Marco Rossi and Paul Cotter (PPG) 

17:07 - ANA: Cutter Gauthier (8) from Beckett Sennecke and Jackson LaCombe (PPG) 

2nd Period: 

2:58 - ANA: Leo Carlsson (5) from Pavel Mintyukov and Mikael Granlund (SHG) 

8:17 - VAN: Linus Karlsson (4) from Drew O’Connor 

18:25 - ANA: Cutter Gauthier (9) from Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund (PPG) 

3rd Period: 

4:11 - ANA: Cutter Gauthier (10) from Beckett Sennecke and Tristan Luneau 

5:30 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (4) from Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser (PPG) 

9:34 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (5) from Jamie Oleksiak and Elias Pettersson 

Up Next: 

Vancouver Canucks @ Winnipeg Jets, November 5, 5:00 pm PCT

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