The Canucks lost 5-1 to the Detroit Red Wings tonight on a night that saw Patrick Kane score his 500th career NHL goal.
History was made on Thursday night as the Vancouver Canucks surrendered two goals to Detroit Red Wings forward, Patrick Kane, who scored career goal number 500 to become the 50th NHL player to achieve the feat. Vancouver dropped the game by a score of 5–1, with Jake DeBrusk being the lone Canuck to score. In net, Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 of 24 shots faced.
Continuing their run of domination throughout 2026, the Canucks’ power play scored yet again tonight, doing-so for their fourth straight game. While they didn’t convert on their first opportunity, which was given to them only 20 seconds into the game after Simon Edvinsson hooked DeBrusk, Vancouver managed to turn the man-advantage into a good chunk of productive O-zone time. It was DeBrusk who capitalized on the Canucks’ second power play of the game, scoring his third power play goal in Vancouver’s past four matches.
Vancouver’s jump at the start of the game was something the team desperately needed after admitting that their opening effort was less-than-ideal last game. However, after spending over half of the first period with momentum, the Canucks took a total of three penalties — two near the same time, putting Detroit on a 5-on-3 power play — to neutralize whatever possession time they’d had. After nearly one period of hard work, and a scrambly three-man penalty kill, untimely penalties resulted in the Red Wings escaping with the lead.
Nils Höglander has been a player on many peoples’ radar as of late, as the forward still has yet to register his first point of the 2025–26 season. He began the game with Aatu Räty and Drew O’Connor and was playing noticeably well, making skilled offensive plays and attempting to bring the puck into the O-zone with his speed. His efforts earned him a look on Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser’s line, on which he was able to help generate five scoring chances-for in only 1:30 minutes at 5-on-5. The forward has been playing well as of late; if he continues playing the way he has been, he should get his first point of 2025-26 in no time.
In Höglander’s place came Evander Kane, who joined Räty and O’Connor for part of the second period and the entire third. This line didn’t fare too poorly for Vancouver, generating six chances during their 7:22 5-on-5 minutes spent together. O’Connor in particular had a fair bit of jump for this line and throughout the game, putting up three shots on goal.
At the end of the day, the Canucks got their chances throughout all three periods, but were unable to convert on enough of them to earn the win. It’s a storyline that has followed Vancouver throughout virtually the entire season. With four more games on the docket for their current road trip, Vancouver will want to scrape together at least one win before heading back to Rogers Arena.
Stats and Facts:
- With his seventh and eighth goals of the season tonight, Patrick Kane becomes the 50th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals
- Vancouver has yet to go a game without scoring a power play goal in 2026
- Jake DeBrusk scores his 11th power play goal of the season, ties Leon Draisaitl for second-most in the NHL
- John Gibson registers his 15th career win against the Canucks
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
19:31 - DET: Patrick Kane (7) from Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin (PPG)
2nd Period:
5:09 - DET: Axel Sandin-Pellikka (5) from James Van Riemsdyk and J.T. Compher
7:03 - VAN: Jake DeBrusk (12) from Kiefer Sherwood and Brock Boeser (PPG)
10:10 - DET: J.T. Compher (5) from James Van Riemsdyk and Axel Sandin-Pellikka
3rd Period:
16:07 - DET: Patrick Kane (8) from Andrew Copp (ENG)
18:10 - DET: Lucas Raymond (13)
Up Next:
Vancouver’s next stop on their current road trip takes them back into Canada, where they’ll face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. This will be the first of two times that they face the Maple Leafs this January, as Toronto will also make the trip out to Vancouver on January 31. Puck drop for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 4:00 pm PT.
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