The Vancouver Canucks Are Taking A Lot Of Penalties At Bad Times

It’s common knowledge that the Vancouver Canucks are taking this year to focus on development. That’s why some of the scores from their first five games of the season aren’t necessarily being received negatively. What has been noticeable, however, is the volume of penalties the Canucks have been taking since the start of the 2026–27 season. 

In comparison to the rest of the NHL, Vancouver has taken a total of 20 minor penalties — 22 total penalties when including fights and misconducts. Only the Montréal Canadiens (21), Utah Mammoth (21), New York Rangers (21), Philadelphia Flyers (21), Ottawa Senators (22), and Carolina Hurricanes (25) have taken more minor penalties. They’re currently averaging 4.37 penalties taken per 60 minutes. 

A closer look at the numbers shows that the Canucks have not taken less than three minor penalties in a single game to start the 2026–27 season. In their 9–7 loss to the Edmonton Oilers and their 3–2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver took five penalties each game and played short-handed for 6:48 and 7:53 minutes respectively. Four of the 10 combined penalties they took in these two games were interference penalties. 

Taking penalties feels pretty standard for so early in the season, and in looking at Vancouver’s previous season totals, the numbers aren’t actually that different. The Canucks actually played in more penalty-killing time last season (30:03) than they have this year (27:21). The issue this year is when, exactly, Vancouver has been taking these penalties. 

In Vancouver’s first game of the 2026–27 season, a 6–5 overtime win against the Oilers, Linus Karlsson took a high-sticking call with around two minutes left in the third period and Edmonton down by only one goal. The Oilers ended up converting on the opportunity to send the game to overtime. Granted, the call on Karlsson was a little soft, and Vancouver went on to win — but the point still stands. 

In their next game against the Oilers, during the third period, Vancouver’s offence heated up, cutting what was initially an 8–3 deficit down to 8–6. The Canucks’ sixth goal came on the power play, capping off a three-goal onslaught that massively swung momentum into Vancouver’s favour. 

Less than a minute after Vancouver’s sixth goal, Marco Rossi took an interference penalty that put the Canucks on the penalty kill, taking away the advantage they’d managed to carve out with their possession time. Leon Draisaitl went on to score the Oilers’ ninth goal to put the game away. 

Aside from Vancouver’s 4–1 win against the Calgary Flames, the pattern of taking penalties in untimely situations continues. Against Vegas, the Canucks ate into what could have been valuable O-zone time by taking back-to-back penalties after having their own power play in the first period. Given their opponents’ ability to hold onto the puck, establishing more possession time after their first power play could have made the difference in a win or a loss. 

A similar situation occurred in Thursday’s 7–2 loss to the Hurricanes. Early in the first period, Vancouver earned an early power play three minutes into the game. Though, once their power play expired, Drew O’Connor took a tripping penalty that awarded the Hurricanes the advantage instead. After Andrei Svechnikov scored on that power play, as well as the penalty taken less than five minutes later, Vancouver found themselves in a 3–0 hole that they were never able to climb out of. 

Taking penalties is a big part of the game. Oftentimes, the timeliness of them can be the difference between a win and a loss. For Vancouver, this is an issue they’ll want to sort out sooner, while they’re still in ‘rebuild mode’, rather than later. 

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