Canucks Implode In The Third Period, Fall 6-2 To The Rangers

The Vancouver Canucks fell 6-2 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Jake DeBrusk scored his third of the season while defenceman Elias Pettersson found the back of the net shorthanded. As for Kevin Lankinen, he allowed six goals on 25 shots and finished the night with a save percentage of .760. 

Sunday's matchup was close until the third period. New York scored three times in the final frame, which pushed their one-goal lead at the second intermission into a four-goal advantage. Ultimately, the Canucks looked like they ran out of gas in the third, as they were outshot 10-4 in the final frame by the Rangers. 

"Obviously, when you start a game down 1-0 30 seconds in, it is not an ideal start," said Manny Malhotra post-game. "The resiliency we showed throughout the course of the period just to get ourselves back into it. In the second, I felt we started to swing the momentum at them. Just didn't sustain it long enough to have a lasting impact."

The biggest storyline from this game was the play of Lankinen. He allowed six goals for the third time this year and was caught out of position several times. Even though this team is in a rebuild where wins and losses are not the most important thing, this team needs to get better goaltending from Lankinen so they do not have to try to outscore their issues on a nightly basis. 

This game was not all doom and gloom, as Pettersson, or D-Petey, had a strong performance. He was tied for the team lead with four hits and, as mentioned, scored shorthanded. Pettersson looks to be taking positive steps from a development perspective, which is good news for the rebuild. 

As for the other feel-good story, Guillaume Brisebois returned to the NHL for the first time since January 11, 2025. The 29-year-old was able to fill the stat sheet as he recorded two shots, two hits, a blocked shot and a penalty. Although he struggled defensively at times, it is nice to see Brisebois getting chances in the NHL after all the injuries he's dealt with over the years. 

Ultimately, there are plenty of learning lessons Manny Malhotra and his staff can take away from this game. Vancouver's defensive coverage was all over the place at times while the team failed to create any form of pushback in the third period. With three more games on this road trip, the Canucks will need to regroup quickly if they want to avoid a lengthy losing streak. 

1st Period: 

00:27- NYR: Tye Kartye (1) from J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafrenière

17:04- VAN: Jake DeBrusk (3) from Jonathan Lekkerimäki

2nd Period:

2:09- NYR: Will Cuylle (1) from Noah Laba

16:56- VAN: Elias Pettersson (2) from Brendan Gallagher and Drew O'Connor (SHG)

18:25- NYR: Tye Kartye (2) from J.T. Miller and Vladislav Gavrikov

3rd Period:

1:04- NYR: Alexis Lafrenière (5) from Gabe Perreault and Mika Zibanejad (PPG)

5:57- NYR: Gabe Perreault (3) from Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad

15;22- NYR: Will Cuylle (2) from Eeli Tolvanen and Braden Schneider

Up Next: 

Vancouver Canucks @ New York Islanders, October 13, 4:45 pm PT

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