Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
Nucks Fan Rebuild & Retool Center - Come For The Banter - Stay For The Disappointment
New Era Nucks go into the big apple to prove they're big enough to play - win or lose.
7 p.m. ET; MSG, SNP
In case you missed the former wet coast tsunami that rolled into Quinnesota on the weekend, there's not much to say. That hasn't already been said one-hundred-billion times.
As much as we enjoy Canucks off-ice drama after long, long weeks of speculation, angsty insinuations and unrepressed commiserations we've moved on. We won the trade. We're still the worst team in the league. Life is good.
So good, the Nucks are on a reunion tour in the far east to visit and possibly beat former Nucks players and their teams. Today it's New York. Friday it's New York. It's always about New York.
Today Nucks faceoff against the Miller-led Rags. It's either an indictment or compliment to the Nucking franchise that provides captaining material to the league. That's leadership. To trade for. Or away.
Whatever. We don't care. Life is good in the bottom of the beast.
While the New Era Nucks are younger, more dynamic - now with one decent center, the Rags are old, ugly and more miserable than ever before. Likely beatable at home. At least we hope so... pretty much.
GAME DAY CHATTER
I assume we play our nemesis Quick tonight. Let's hope the Rangers scoring woes at home continue tonight. Rangers goalies are getting pissed. I assume Ziba didn't miss his meeting today? I predict another 2-1 #Canucks win tonight. I predict we win every game 2-1 the rest of the year.
— DJTaxman77 (@taxman77.bsky.social) December 16, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Today is game 2 of the Canucks Revenge Tour (revenge for what, I don't know). I'm cheering them on, so let's get Rossi that 50th career goal & Kampf closer to his 50th as well. A couple of other guys are due for a goal so it's time to collect. All for one one, one for all, all that crap. #canucks
— Terry & dog 🦮...🇨🇦🍁 (@aweebitdaft.bsky.social) December 16, 2025 at 7:50 AM
GAME DAY LINEUPS
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Marco Rossi -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- David Kampf -- Conor Garland
Kiefer Sherwood -- Drew O'Connor -- Evander Kane
Liam Ohgren -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Filip Hronek -- Marcus Pettersson
Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers
Elias Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: P.O Joseph, Aatu Raty, Arshdeep Bains
Injured: Elias Pettersson (upper body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafreniere
Conor Sheary -- Mika Zibanejad -- J.T. Miller
Brett Berard -- Noah Laba -- Will Cuylle
Taylor Raddysh -- Sam Carrick -- Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy -- Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen -- Matthew Robertson
Jonathan Quick
Igor Shesterkin
Scratched: Jonny Brodzinski, Jaroslav Chmelar, Scott Morrow
Injured: Adam Fox (upper body), Adam Edstrom (lower body)
Status report
Boeser did not participate in the morning skate but will play for the Canucks, who will use the same lineup from their 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. … Zibanejad is expected to play after being a healthy scratch in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, when he missed a team meeting that morning.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
We're still on our NM Nostalgia kick - hanging back in the 80s when losing still felt important and right. Today we have a new motto: We're All Apathetic Canucks.
Fuck the fascists and broligarchs! Go Canucks Go!
The Canucks go into the post-Quinn era trying to find wins...or get 1st overall.
Can you imagine being a person who bought a ticket in September to see all of the Hughes brothers play on the same ice surface in New Jersey this morning? Can you imagine the Hughes parents, who now have to fly to Minnesota in January to see all their kids play on the same ice?
You're right, who cares.
The Canucks start their Quinn-less era with a lot of fans questioning their own decisions of who they cheer for. Including Kent.
Jim Rutherford was actually quoted saying that there is a rebuild going on. Patrick Allvin said the culture of the teams is fine.
I think this might be the lowest point in Canucks history since Messier landed in Vancouver.
You're allowed to wallow in self-pity for a moment. You're allowed to feel anger at the last 15 years.
but then....you need to remember that your only job is to cheer for this tire fire of a team.
Accept the fact that you can't walk away from this relationship, no matter how many times they come home drunk....and lose.
You're stuck here. You can try to say that you can leave the Canucks anytime you feel like it and still enjoy hockey, but we all know this is a fucking lie. You'll always check the score or peep at the highlights and you definitely always say, "Fuck Calgary".
So don't bring in your threats of leaving in here. Sit back and watch these new players and what we have right now and hopefully we beat New Jersey without the best Hughes brother. And if not, we're a step closer to McKenna.
GAME DAY CHATTER
I will leave this be today, as it is all "Hughes...this and that."
Hughes doesn't play here anymore.
GAME DAY LINEUPS
Hello, (assuming you're healthy) Marco Rossi! Ready to have your minutes escalated through the roof? Because, no pressure or anything, have you seen who's behind you? Welcome, also, to Liam Ohgren and "impossible level" Wordle challenge, Zeev Buium. All three new arrivals had a good practice and should play.
Assuming no more trades happen between now and the 9:30 AM Pacific start, here's who should be dressing. Arshdeep Bains skated in Höglander's place at practice, and Aatu Räty was an extra, but Höglander had the day off due to illness, not injury.
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Marco Rossi -- Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander -- David Kampf -- Conor Garland
Evander Kane -- Drew O'Connor -- Kiefer Sherwood
Liam Ohgren -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Marcus Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
Zeev Buium -- Tyler Myers
Elias Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Lukas Reichel, P.O. Joseph
Injured: Elias Pettersson (upper body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Devils projected lineup
Jesper Bratt -- Nico Hischier -- Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat -- Cody Glass -- Connor Brown
Paul Cotter -- Juho Lammikko -- Stefan Noesen
Xavier Parent -- Luke Glendening -- Angus Crookshank
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon -- Luke Hughes
Dennis Chowlowski -- Colton White
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Calen Addison, Timo Meier
Injured: Jack Hughes (finger), Zack MacEwen (lower body), Brett Pesce (hand), Jonathan Kovacevic (knee), Evgenii Dadonov (wrist), Arseny Gritsyuk (upper body), Simon Nemec (lower body)
Status report
The Canucks acquired forwards Rossi and Ohgren, defenseman Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft in a trade with the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Quinn Hughes on Friday; Rossi is questionable to play because of a lower-body injury; Buium and Ohgren are expected to be in the lineup. ... Meier (personal leave/family health matter) was placed on the non-roster list; the forward will miss his third straight game. ... Addison, a defenseman, was recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
If you want to reminisce about bad times, we can go back to the 80s, back to when the Canucks never won a division, came in 2nd place once and routinely finished 4th or 5th in the division. And yet....a lot of us oldtimers are still watching this hot mess. So it's fitting that Genesis has the song for us.
Go Canucks Go!
Canucks get a chance to keep the basement cold on home ice.
10 p.m. ET; SNP, MSG-B
This is the most important game of the season!
The battle of expansion twins. Older twins from the cursed NHL expansion of 1970.
55 years in the making. The bottom dwelling Nucks vs the perennially bottom-feeding Sabres. With a twist of anguish, because unlike many seasons, Vancouver sits below Boofooloo. Sits in the cold basement, shivering alone in the dark realization of being the worst of the worst.
Sabres are far up the doomed ladder of meh in the prestigious 29th spot. That was once ours.
There's no point going over the shutout loss to Gibson and the MotorCity Wings of Red. Nucks didn't score, but gave up four. Which secured our last placeness against all other loser teams.
With that slacker achievement completed, Canucks can solidify their spot in hockey infamy with another home loss tonight. JR/PA have already gifted us with our single ROG of the month win last week. We should be grateful.
And we are. So grateful their steady hands and keen hockey minds have in 2 short seasons, taken a team seen as a contender and ruined it. Thanks, Rutherford, Alvin, Foote and Franny.
Now we have the Festiva of Huggie Trade Gossip to savour. Good work.
Doesn't matter. We endured years of Benning dismalness, we can endure some more.
GAMEDAY CHATTER
Hughes chatter, because that's all we have left.
"If Quinn Hughes is in fact traded, we will put this in a box with some of the most painful transactions in the history of the #Canucks.." @thomasdrance.bsky.social on the Hughes trade chatter and when a trade could happen. Full interview.. youtu.be/kVSv96IkDZc
— Donnie & Dhali (@donnieanddhali.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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It's very strange going to Canucks games right now knowing each game might be Quinn Hughes last as a Canuck. Enjoy each moment #Canucks
— Rob Hodkinson 🇨🇦🏴 (@robhodkinson.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 3:00 PM
All the Hughes talk??? I want off this stupid merry-go-round. #canucks
— Terry & dog 🦮...🇨🇦🍁 (@aweebitdaft.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Petey is a no-go. So it appears our new #1 center is gonna be Sassy!
Ok. Listen up. You’re all gonna get injured ok? But just one guy a game ok? Tonight it’s Brock. Nobody will suspect a tank! Demko? Don’t worry about Demmer 😉 #canucks
— 🇨🇦 Bi Polar Guide 🇨🇦 pronouns: who, whom, whoever, whomever. (@bipolarguide.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Yes! Demmer is back, baby! Stealing a game or stealing our faint hope?
GAMEDAY LINEUPS
Sabres projected lineup
Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch
Zach Benson -- Tyson Kozak -- Josh Doan
Isak Rosen -- Ryan McLeod -- Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn -- Josh Dunne -- Jordan Greenway
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram -- Conor Timmins
Owen Power -- Jacob Bryson
Alex Lyon
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Scratched: Zach Metsa, Trevor Kuntar
Injured: Josh Norris (illness), Colten Ellis (concussion), Justin Danforth (lower body), Jason Zucker (upper and lower body), Jiri Kulich (ear), Michael Kesselring (lower body)
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Brock Boeser -- David Kampf -- Conor Garland
Evander Kane -- Drew O'Connor -- Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Hoglander -- Aatu Raty -- Arshdeep Bains
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Lukas Reichel, P.O Joseph
Injured: Elias Pettersson (upper body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Status report
Norris will miss a second straight game after being a late scratch for a 4-3 overtime win at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday after he “tweaked something” in warmups; the forward also is battling an illness, according to coach Lindy Ruff, but could return at the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. … Ellis, a goalie, was placed on injured reserve Thursday. ... Zucker, a forward, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and is week to week. ... Boeser, a forward, did not take part in the Canucks' morning skate Thursday and is a game-time decision after waking up with some “discomfort,” according to coach Adam Foote. “They're just making sure, send him to the doc, make sure it's not his appendix. Hopefully it's not that and we'll have him tonight,” Foote said; Reichel took Boeser's spot in morning line rushes. … Demko will start and return after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. ... Pettersson, a center, will miss his third straight game but has resumed skating and is expected to join the team on a five-game road trip that begins at the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. ... Vancouver assigned goalie Nikita Tolopilo to Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
GAMEDAY BATTLE HYMN
On the road to Rebuild Town or the usual Nucking destination...
Fuck the broligarchs and fascism. Go Canucks Go.
Canucks get a chance to reclaim the basement on home ice.
10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNP, FDSNDET
This Nucking season has been full of twists, turns and sudden reversals. And the reversal of result on Saturday against one the league's hottest teams and their goalie was very unexpected. And fun to watch!
Calder Canucks rescued the non-Cup Canucks from a certain grim fate. From Tolo in goal, to Ratty scoring three or two, to both Willi and D-Petey scoring to win a fun game in front of a ROG crowd that may have forgotten what winning looks like. It looked very good.
Without EP40, Kampf was promoted to 1st line duty and was in on every Nucks goal. In the same rink when the Nucks goals were scored.
So impressed with his 1st line performance, the ever brilliant coaching staff give him another chance tonight to score or something as our new 2C.
And finally... fresh from the Faeries, Hogz returns! Exciting!
Is it possible the Nucks win two in a row for the first time since October, first 2 game regulation win streak of the season?
Anything is possible... except for clawing their way back to the mushy middle and beyond.
Doesn't matter. The stealth rebuild is looking pretty stealthy, not that we can see it.
GAMEDAY CHATTER
#Canucks have a chance at their 1st 2 regulation win streak of the year. Still no idea how we beat the Wild with all our injuries. We win when outshot and lose when we outshoot our oppenent. I assume Lank will be back in goal. No word yet on Petey or Hoggy.
— DJTaxman77 (@hugheshart43.bsky.social) December 7, 2025 at 11:28 PM
I could be missing something but this seems like all the #Canucks news today: EP40 is a Game Time Decision Höglander returns Lankinen starts Woo on Waivers Blueger return pushed to Christmas Young sent to the ECHL
— Adam Kierszenblat (@adamkblat.bsky.social) December 8, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Petey is unlikely, but Hogz is a go. Lanky is expected to start. However, we can take solace in endless, relentless Huggie trade talk. Ummm... solace? Is that the word?
Now I know why Vancouver has been raining practically non stop for a couple of weeks. It's not rain, it's tears of Canuck fans, in the air, coming down because of all the Quinn Hughes trade talk. #canucks
— Terry & dog 🦮...🇨🇦🍁 (@aweebitdaft.bsky.social) December 8, 2025 at 12:39 PM
GAMEDAY LINEUPS
Red Wings projected lineup
Emmett Finnie -- Dylan Larkin -- Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat -- Andrew Copp -- Patrick Kane
Michael Rasmussen -- J.T. Computer-- James van Riemsdyk
Elmer Soderblom -- Marco Kasper -- Nate Danielson
Simon Edvinsson -- Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot -- Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Travis Hamonic -- Albert Johansson
John Gibson
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Jonathan Berggren, Jacob Bernard-Docker
Injured: Mason Appleton (lower body)
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Brock Boeser -- David Kampf -- Conor Garland
Evander Kane -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Hoglander -- Drew O'Connor -- Arshdeep Bains
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Nils Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Kevin Lankinen
Nikita Tolopilo
Scratched: Lukas Reichel, P.O. Joseph
Injured: Elias Pettersson (upper body), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Status report
The Red Wings will use the same lineup from their 4-3 win at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, including Gibson starting consecutive games for the first time since a string of three straight last month (Nov. 9-15). … Pettersson, the Canucks’ top center, won’t play and is still “being evaluated,” coach Adam Foote said after he was a late scratch against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. … Hoglander will make his season debut following a preseason injury that required surgery. … Blueger, a center who hasn’t played since Oct. 19, had a setback that put him back “pretty much back to square one,” Foote said. He isn’t expected to return before Christmas.
GAMEDAY BATTLE HYMN
It ain't no party without Arty while the war on winning continues - can't we have fun while it lasts?
Fuck the broligarchs and fascism. Go Canucks Go.
Canucks get an even tougher opponent to play against in the 2nd of a home B-2-B.
10 p.m. ET; CITY, SNP, FDSNNOX, FDSNWI
Things are all falling in place for the Canucks. Falling to the bottom of the standings while playing better overall. The Franny/Rutherford/Alvin tinkering at the edges of futility has proven futile.
The Canucks in their storied and sordid history have never ever fallen to 32nd place in league standings. EVER. Sure, it's a trick stat, since NHL only got their 32nd team recently, but still...
Last night, Canucks out-played, out-chanced the Woolies and lost. Nucks puck luck is pretty flucked up and we have the stats to prove it.
Now that we've accepted (for now) our place in the stinky basement of Gary's parody league, it's time to enjoy some of our fav players, while they're still here.
ENJOY THE SPECIAL QUIET. THE TRANQUILITY OF KNOWING IT CAN ONLY GET BETTER.
Better in 5 to 10 years? Maybe. Or not. Doesn't matter anymore.
Ok Francesco Aquilini, it's time to give Jim Rutherford and Patrick Allvin the boot. Get some management who actually know what they are doing before these two imbeciles trade away everyone for 4th liners. #Canucks
— Maple Poutine 🇨🇦 (@gluegunstanley.bsky.social) December 6, 2025 at 8:48 AM
And #firefoote, too.
— Vern Faulkner (Part owner of Canada) (@vernfaulkner.bsky.social) December 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Cheer or don't cheer. Fire Foote or don't. Fire Alvin or don't. Sell the team or don't.
Doesn't matter. We've seen the bottom and we've seen off our very last glimpse of faint hope. That's enough. For now.
GAMEDAY CHATTER
Very worried that Aqua is going to fire this management group, who will in turn fire Foote and completely ruin the tank. Everyone knows the season is done, so please just let it play out ffs. #Canucks
— Geordie Canuck (@geordiecanuck.bsky.social) December 6, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Elias Pettersson plays his 500th NHL game tonight. His 479 points are the most by any player in #Canucks history through their first 500 games. Doesn't matter if a player started their career in Vancouver or were traded after playing NHL games, Pettersson leads everyone.
— Adam Kierszenblat (@adamkblat.bsky.social) December 6, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Celebrate Pete's achievement and $92M reward. Celebrate the little things. But not Little Things. Enjoy the moment while we look back fondly on the 2020 fake Cup run when this core was young and full of promise.
GAMEDAY LINEUPS
Wild projected lineup
Kirill Kaprizov -- Danila Yurov -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Yakov Trenin -- Nico Sturm -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Liam Ohgren -- Ryan Hartman -- Tyler Pitlick
Jacob Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Brock Faber
Zeev Buium -- Zach Bogosian
Jesper Wallstedt
Filip Gustavsson
Scratched: Daemon Hunt, Hunter Haight, Ben Jones
Injured: Marcus Foligno (lower body), Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body), Marco Rossi (lower body)
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Linus Karlsson
Brock Boeser -- Max Sasson -- Conor Garland
Drew O'Connor -- David Kampf -- Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains -- Aatu Raty -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Nils Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Nikita Tolopilo
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Lukas Reichel, P.O. Joseph
Injured: Evander Kane (illness), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Status report
Yurov will return after missing two games with an undisclosed injury, replacing Hartman on the top forward line, replacing Jones. … Rossi, a forward out since Nov. 11, remains week to week. … The Canucks did not hold a morning skate. … Tolopilo is expected to start after Lankinen made 14 saves in a 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Friday. … Kane, a top-line(ish) forward who missed the game Friday, could return (unfortunately).
GAMEDAY BATTLE HYMN
Canucks are the worst of the worst. The lowest ranked of the low. The baddest of the bad. Bad to the groan. Or worse.
Fuck the NHL, broligarchs and fascism. Go Canucks Go.
The Canucks return home, which might not be the best thing for a team that has struggled so badly in their place of residence.
9 p.m. ET; SNP, Utah16
Let us begin with this:
Last place in the league. Look at it, in all its glory.
Kent got so emotional about this, this his body decided to get sick.
I am not one to usually go around and collect receipts, but a show of hands please of those who said this team was a playoff team...
For those of you who will argue that bad luck has cursed this team, you should have thought about that in September, when you had hope and expectations!
NEVER HAVE HOPE AND EXPECTATIONS AS A CANUCK FAN!!!
GAMEDAY CHATTER
So....I agree that Aquilini hasn't scored this year and is not noticeable on the ice, but how do the three areas that actually have more effect on results do not even have the same percentage of blame than the owner? The owner let management spend the money to be near top of the league in the area. He hired a management team who hired a coach and created this team over the past 3 years. And yet 2/3s of the votes blame him. This logic continues to baffle me. If you can please explain to me, with evidence, how Aquilini....this year....caused this shit show.
This team is mediocre at best.
GAMEDAY LINEUPS
Mammoth projected lineup
Clayton Keller -- Nick Schmaltz -- JJ Peterka
Daniil But -- Logan Cooley -- Dylan Guenther
Michael Carcone -- Jack McBain -- Lawson Crouse
Liam O'Brien -- Kevin Stenlund -- Kailer Yamamoto
Mikhail Sergachev -- John Marino
Nate Schmidt -- Sean Durzi
Ian Cole -- Maveric Lamoureux
Karel Vejmelka
Vitek Vanecek
Scratched: Barrett Hayton, Brandon Tanev, Nick DeSimone
Injured: Alex Kerfoot (lower body), Olli Maatta (upper body)
Canucks projected lineup
Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Linus Karlsson
Brock Boeser -- Max Sasson -- Conor Garland
Drew O'Connor -- David Kampf -- Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains -- Aatu Raty -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Nils Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Kevin Lankinen
Nikita Tolopilo
Scratched: Lukas Reichel, P.O Joseph
Injured: Evander Kane (illness), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Status report
Hayton and Tanev each will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game after the forwards sat out a 7-0 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. … Kane is doubtful to play. The forward left a 3-1 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday because of a skate cut, and missed practice Thursday and the morning skate Friday because of illness. … Garland returns after missing two games because of an upper-body injury. … Demko, who last played Nov. 11, took part in a portion of practice Thursday. The goalie could return next week. … Hoglander is practicing and the forward could make his season debut next week. He is working his way back following surgery for an injury sustained during the preseason.
GAMEDAY BATTLE HYMN
It's been awhile since the Canucks have been the worst in the league and with the bill of goods we've been sold and bought into...yes, both can happen.....there are bound to be some sad feelings. Disappointment for sure. So why not let your inner child mope for a bit with R.E.M
Go Canucks Go....tanking all the way.
After outscoring LA and losing, Canucks climb high into the Rockies to play the league's best team, hoping beyond hope the Avs are sick and tired of so much winning.
CANUCKS (10-13-3) at AVALANCHE (18-1-6)
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
6:00 pm PST; 9:00 pm EST
TV: ALT, Sportsnet
Radio: Sportsnet 650
You might be asking, "How many weird games must the Nucks play this season?"
The answer is... all of them. With a depleted roster, undocumented spontaneous league rules and rookies on the ice and behind the bench, perhaps this game could just be a normal loss.
The OT loss in LA wasn't normal - except weird is the new Nucks normal. 3 disallowed goals in the 1st period. Nucks score 1 goal that counted as Kane came out of the box. Kane in the box is normal, so there's that. While the Nucks got the game to OT and were almost on pace to get the game to Lanky's happy period, gravity and Pete's dull skates thwarted that attempt as LA scored while Lanky was interfered with. It was a nice touch the Sit Room reviewed the goal just so the Nucks could lose twice in the same game.
The last time the Nucks played the Avs, they took them to OT and lost 5-4 in the ROG. Those were the days... when the full impact of Faery fever was yet to be felt.
The good news is, Lankinen is good to go and we won't have to witness the Avs score 12 on Jiri. The other good news... [insert inspiring platitude here].
LINEUPS
From the nhl dot coms, it's the thing:
Canucks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Brock Boeser -- David Kampf -- Kiefer Sherwood
Drew O'Connor -- Max Sasson -- Jake DeBrusk
Arshdeep Bains -- Aatu Raty-- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Elias Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Kevin Lankinen
Jiri Patera
Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Lukas Reichel
Injured: Conor Garland (upper body), Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Avalanche projected lineup
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog -- Brock Nelson -- Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton -- Jack Drury -- Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly -- Zakhar Bardakov -- Joel Kiviranta
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Josh Manson -- Brent Burns
Samuel Girard -- Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: Ilya Solovyov
Injured: Gavin Brindley (lower body), Logan O’Connor (hip surgery)
Status report
Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo was designated non-roster on Monday for the birth of his child; Patera was recalled from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions. … Hoglander, a forward, skated in a noncontact jersey; Vancouver coach Adam Foote said Hoglander is “feeling good.” … The Avalanche held an optional morning skate. Nichushkin will play after missing eight games with a lower-body injury.
GAME DAY CHATTER
With Gnarland still out of the lineup we can hope the Faeries have sated their insatiable appetite until the new year.
Argh.. projected 1st line ... KANE EP40 LEKKERIMAKI Kane on the first line... pls make this stop - Foote is really out to lunch #Canucks
— islandgal (@islandgal.bsky.social) December 2, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Sometimes you just gotta read the headline to an article you wrote earlier in the season and laugh. #Canucks
— Brayden Fengler (@braydenfengler.bsky.social) December 2, 2025 at 10:15 AM
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Vancouver Canucks 5v5 on-ice xG results #Canucks #NHL
— sohraub (@sohraub.bsky.social) December 2, 2025 at 9:29 AM
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GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Only one place left to go...
Enjoy the game, everyone. Fuck Fascism! Go Canucks Go!
After another strong performance from Nikita Tolopilo, the Canucks head to Los Angeles, hoping to the two losses yesterday afternoon behind them, after battling the Sharks and the officiating crew.
Vancouver Canucks (10-13-2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (11-6-7)
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet, CBC, CITY
Radio: Sportsnet 650
What are you supposed to do when games get called like that? When John Shorthouse politely mentions that the officiating crew is struggling during the broadcast, you know that's code for "What a complete fucking garbage fire!" The icing on the cake was Quinn Hughes getting an unsportsmanlike penalty for yelling at the referee over a missed call. Seriously. The only call that was worse, was at the end of the game, throwing Elias Pettersson in the box for *roughing (*getting crosschecked in the back three times), with less than two seconds left. Just an embarrassing display for the league and the game.
That led to a 5 on 3 power play for San Jose, and the tying goal. They'd later get another, and hang on to win 3-2. And that one hurts, because Quinn Hughes, as well as Tolopilo, deserved a far better fate than that. Hughes was an absolute dominant force all night, but sadly the Canucks couldn't get that tying goal and send it to overtime, which is a nice segue into tonight's game, as they take on the poster children for why the shootout needs to be eliminated and ties brought back, the Los Angeles Kings.
With seven Bettman points so far this season, and five of them coming from shootout losses, the Kings might not be as good as their place in the standings would suggest. But we aren't going to suggest that, because Uncle Gary parity never lies, friends.
There is good news, though, as Kevin Lankinen is good to go and will be getting the start tonight, as well as Jonathan Lekkerimaki getting recalled from Abbotsford. That means we're likely going to see some tweaks, and hopefully, some tweaks on the power play, which let them down yesterday.
LINEUPS
From the nhl dot coms, it's the thing:
Canucks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk
Conor Garland -- David Kampf -- Brock Boeser
Drew O'Connor -- Max Sasson -- Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains -- Lukas Reichel -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Kevin Lankinen
Nikita Tolopilo
Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Aatu Raty
Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Kings projected lineup
Kevin Fiala -- Quinton Byfield -- Adrian Kempe
Alex Laferriere -- Anze Kopitar -- Trevor Moore
Joel Armia -- Phillip Danault -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Jeff Malott -- Alex Turcotte -- Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson -- Joel Edmundson
Brian Dumoulin -- Brandt Clarke
Jacob Moverare -- Cody Ceci
Anton Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched: Samuel Helenius
Injured: Drew Doughty (lower body), Warren Foegele (upper body)
So, Sasson gets bumped to the third line, as Raty sits, and Reichel slots in on the fourth line. No other changes for the moment. They've got one more game on this road swing as they head up to Colorado Tuesday before heading home and a Friday/Saturday double header against Utah and Minnesota, so that two day break might allow for some of the injured players who've been skating with the team to potentially return, but we'll see how that plays out.
GAME DAY CHATTER
Sorry, we really need to watch this one again.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Off their latest album called '...Is Your Friend', here's SoCal HC crew DRAIN, showing 'Nothing But Love'.
Enjoy the game, everyone. Fuck Fascism! Go Canucks Go!
In the long run, it's not going to change much, but when the team and their fan base really needed a feel good win, they came through. Another tough challenge today as they take another one of the teams in the Pacific mix that is better than they were last season in San Jose.
Vancouver Canucks (10-12-2) vs. San Jose Sharks (11-10-3)
SAP Center at San Jose, Anaheim, CA
1:00 pm PST; 4:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: Sportsnet 650
When the team really needed a goaltender to stand tall, Nikita Tolopilo, all 6'6" of him, came up with a huge night, stopping 37 shots in a 5-4 Canucks win over the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks. They got two goals from the Abbotsford line, an Evander Kane PPG, a goal that will be part of the video tribute they play for Conor Garland whenever he makes his first visit back to Vancouver after being traded, and another one from Drew O'Connor to hang on for the win.
They're going up against a team pretty similar not only to Anaheim, but themselves in San Jose this afternoon. The Sharks, led by local kid Macklin Celebrini, are close to being a playoff team again after years of awfulness once their Stanley Cup window closed. And all they had to do was just keep being awful and win the draft lottery. Voila, a soon to be contender, if they continue this trajectory. Sure, they'll need to tweak some things, but this is a good test for the Canucks today. Heading into a tough back to back, can they keep up with another speedy young team, and give their goaltender enough support to get a much-needed two points?
LINEUPS
From the nhl dot com whoosywhatsit, here's what you'll likely see today:
Canucks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk
Conor Garland -- David Kampf -- Brock Boeser
Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Jiri Patera
Nikita Tolopilo
Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Kevin Lankinen, Lukas Reichel
Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Sharks projected lineup
William Eklund -- Macklin Celebrini -- Will Smith
Philipp Kurashev -- Alexander Wennberg -- Tyler Toffoli
Adam Gaudette -- Ty Dellandrea -- Collin Graf
Barclay Goodrow -- Zack Ostapchuk -- Ryan Reaves
Dmitry Orlov -- Timothy Liljegren
Mario Ferraro -- Shakir Mukhamadullin
Sam Dickinson -- Vincent Desharnais
Alex Nedeljkovic
Yaroslav Askarov
Scratched: Vincent Iorio, Nick Leddy, John Klingberg
Injured: Michael Misa (lower body), Jeff Skinner (lower body)
No changes for the Canucks, apart from Jiri Patera likely to get the start today, with either Tolopilo or Kevin Lankinen getting the start tomorrow in Los Angeles. Lankinen has rejoined the team, and along with Thatcher Demko, means the Canucks have four goaltenders with them right now. Neat. Watch for Reichel to get slotted in for Raty, though. After that dangerous top line for the Sharks, they'll also have to be wary of Tyler Toffoli, who'll likely get a hat trick today, Adam Gaudette, and Ryan Reaves, who can always be counted on to do something stupid. Maybe he goes after Kane? Anyway, this should be a fun one, like the game on Wednesday.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Sometimes, you just gotta take a chance on bands, so you don't miss out on something amazing. Scouring the youtubes for a battle hymn, I came across a band called BONGABONGA. I gave it a pass, and after 20 minutes went back to it just to see what the deal was. Glad I did, because this OSDM-influenced thrash act from Jakarta, Indonesia absolutely rips. Check out 'Seribu Tiga Ratus Dua Belas', the title track from their album on Brutal Mind Records.
Enjoy the game. Fuck fascism. Go Canucks Go!!
How does it keep getting worse? The Canucks don't just lose like normal teams. Every loss seems to come attached to punishments that test their collective wills to go on.
Vancouver Canucks (9-12-2) vs. Anaheim Ducks (14-7-1)
Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST
TV: Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: Sportsnet 650
It's never been easy being a Canucks fan. Years of ineptitude from ownership, front office, coaching and the actual on ice talent have made cheering this team into an experience not for the feint of heart. Hell, we've even had anthem singer drama. And the thing that sucks, the only thing we've wanted, since I started following the team in 1973, is hope. Just to be able to watch this team and not feel existential dread every time they go on the ice. Honestly, apart from their expansion cousins, there's no other team that just continually makes life harder for their fans.
Miss me with the tales of woe about the Leafs, okay? You have Stanley Cup banners hanging in your rink. You've been competitive for a long time now, and I would trade that in a heart beat to what is going on here. Playoff failure, and failing to make the playoffs are two entirely different things, and one of them is infinitely worse than the other, believe me.
So after another loss, we've gotten all kinds of responses from coaching and management, about how things could change, and there could be veterans moved out to try and shore up things for the future. Honestly, Apart from Quinn Hughes, I think I am good now with anyone being moved. Look, I love Elias Pettersson, and seeing him starting to regain his form this season has been one of the few bright spots. The only way this team can be rebuilt/retooled into a team that can be a contender, is with Hughes as the core. That and just one more thing.
They need to win the draft lottery this year.
Gavin McKenna is a generational type player like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini. Until the Canucks are able to draft a legit superstar forward to go along with a guy already proving to be a Hall of Fame worthy rearguard, it's just not going to get any better. So the Canucks need to stop selling their future and blow up the present if they want to make things better. That means shipping out Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger and Tyler Myers. Stop bringing in guys like Lukas Reichel, David Kampf and others. They're already near or at the bottom of every team metric in the NHL right now, and only there because they've managed to be half decent beyond 60 minutes.
They have an opportunity to just blow it up this year, and set things in motion to finally do things the right way, and give us a team we can believe in. It takes courage from management, and for ownership to actually do what is right and understand that building a better team will actually be better for the bottom line in the long run. This fan base isn't stupid. If you can put together a plan, where you put together solid, high draft picks to compliment what we already have in terms of prospects, they will get better. This is how every team apart from Vegas has done it, and most of us understand it's gonna continue to suck before getting better. Right now, all we have is suck. No hope, no future.
Look at Anaheim. Are they for real? We'll find out as the season goes on, but they went through some crappy years and built a young team that is ready to make some noise. I'd genuinely say this is a feel good story, if they hadn't hired Joel Quenneville to coach them. Instead, they should just be mocked and ridiculed, and every misfortune cheered heartily for being such a soulless organization as to allow that fucking scumbag a pass back into the game of hockey. It's embarrassing for the league that they continue to put victims last.
LINEUPS
From the nhl dot com thing on the interwebs, here's what to expect tonight:
Canucks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Jake DeBrusk
Conor Garland -- David Kampf -- Brock Boeser
Drew O'Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Kiefer Sherwood
Arshdeep Bains -- Max Sasson -- Linus Karlsson
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Elias Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander
Nikita Tolopilo
Jiri Patera
Scratched: P.O. Joseph, Kevin Lankinen, Lukas Reichel
Injured: Thatcher Demko (lower body), Filip Chytil (concussion protocol), Teddy Blueger (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Ducks projected lineup
Cutter Gauthier -- Leo Carlsson -- Beckett Sennecke
Chris Kreider -- Mason McTavish -- Troy Terry
Frank Vatrano -- Ryan Strome -- Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston -- Jansen Harkins -- Nikita Nesterenko
Jackson LaCombe -- Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger -- Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov -- Radko Gudas
Petr Mrazek
Ville Husso
Scratched: Ian Moore
Injured: Ryan Poehling (upper body), Mikael Granlund (lower body), Lukas Dostal (upper body)
Okay, so just to put this all in perspective: Heading into the Pacific Division leaders building tonight, where they are one of the best home ice teams in the NHL right now, the Canucks are starting a goaltender in his NHL debut. Nikita Tolopilo will make the start tonight, and Jiri Patera, who had been sent down to Abbotsford, will back him up as Kevin Lankinen is taking a personal leave and not with the team. Thatcher Demko has traveled with the team, but there's no guarantee that he'll start one of these three games. This could get ugly.
Arshdeep Bains is back in after sitting in the press box for five straight games, and there's word that Nils Hoglander and Teddy Blueger could join the team on this trip, but again, we'll believe that when we see it. And yes, Evander Kane is still on the top line.
GAME DAY CHATTER
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
While there's an album of covers paying tribute to METALLICA's 'Kill Em All' currently getting all the hype, don't sleep on this new cover of 'Hit The Lights' from GIRLSCHOOL, featuring help from ALCATRAZZ and blues guitarist Joe Stump. Gritty as fuck, and absolutely has the fire and fury of that 1983 release.
