Great News! Canucks Reclaim Their Basement Suite In The League Of Billionaire Playthings.

Bad news... New kids bump is over.

Here's what we learned: The ROG is a tough rink to play in. Especially for Vancouver.

Canucks got goals from Karlsson, O'Connor and Rossi.

Sharks got goals from Reeves, Eklund, Chernyshov, Celebrini, Graf and Rossi.

Rossi got his 1st goal as a Canuck on Demmers. His 2nd goal as a Canuck on the visiting tender. If that's not balanced scoring, what is?

This game had all the hallmarks of a Nucks home game after a good stretch on the road. Those hallmarks are more like du'h marks, but that's not the point.

The point is, the Nucks had stretches of good play and more stretches of not good play. And that plays into a wonderous possibility of stealth hybrid-tanking for the remainder of the season and still picking 10th.

The Canucks are nothing, if not a team of possibilities.

Lots of possibilities, not many good ones. But we're here for the possible possibilities that 55 years have shown as impossibly remote.

Period 1

Nucks get outshot and out scored 2-1 in the 1st. The 1st Sharks goal by Reaves looked like an easy one to challenge, so Footsey chose not to. Demmers had the puck covered with his glove and Reaves swiped the blocker and puck into the net.

Nucks trailed 2-0 after starting slow because so many days off. That's a valid reason, right?

No worries. Nucks get a PP goal from Karlsson. That's worth 2 goals over in False Creek.

Period 2

In the 2nd, the only goal scored was off the stick of Rossi. Yay! Off his stick and past Demko. Oh...

Congratulations to Marco Rossi for his first goal as a Canuck. The Loui Eriksson Special. #Canucks

— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 8:31 PM

Sigh. #canuckslife

-- Twitch

Canucks were outshot 11-6 in the period. Uncertain which side of the stats Rossi's shot went.

Period 3

Finally in the final period, Nucks trailing 3-1, kids can relax and start putting pressure on those young Sharklings.

Not even a minute in and Rossi wants more. Scores a tricky goal that made the Sharklet goalie look as uncomfortable as Demmers.

Redemption! #Canucks Rossi is a scourge to goalies on both ends of the ice.

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM

Down a single goal and lots and lots of time to go. Will the Canucks mount a comeback kids story for the thousands of overpaying ROG fans?

Of course not.

Canucks get into penalty trouble... as is ROG tradition Myers goes off, then M-Petey goes off. 2D down on the PK. Is that so bad? Nope.

Remaining 3 Nucks kill off a minute of 5-3 Sharkling advantage. But not the remainder of the Sharklets 5-on-4.

However, on the next Nucks PK, O'Connor gets a gift pass of Toffee and scoots down the ice with a 2-on-1 with Gnarly. Doesn't pass. Shoots a wicked shot off the post and in.

4-3 Sharks and the Nucks are coming back.

Or not. Footsey puts Pete's line out for a D-zone FO. Yeah... great to see Petey back and playing like the average $7M center we remember. He doesn't cover Celebrini with the Petey smother and local wizkid whips a shot past Demmers.

Awful coaching having Kane start in the defensive zone with Celebrini out there. I said it as soon as I saw it. #Canucks

— DJTaxman77 (@taxman77.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM

Kane is a coach/owner fav and must be on Pete's line.

5-3 Sharks and now the genius of timing, the potentate of emptying nets, pulls Demko before the Nucks have full possession in the opposition's zone.

Doesn't go well.

Idiotic goalie pull. #Canucks

— CrankyCanucksFan 🇨🇦🏒 (@crankycanucksfan.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM

Yes. I STILL don't understand the obsession with pulling the goalie with a multi-goal deficit.

— Destany (@bookhalfunread.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:39 PM

6-3 Sharks with 3 sad minutes of soggy ROG time remaining. And after the sad time ended and the happy tank time started.

Nucks gave up 37 shots against. That's a tad too many to win a ROG game. Not that we want to watch the Nucks win more than 4 home games in a season. After all, we're here to watch a hybrid-tank get great mileage with a high first round option.

OBSERVATIONS:

• Nucks were passive and permissive. That's how you spell tank.
• 32nd spot is again ours to treasure..
• Not a good game, just as they drew it up.

Calgary wins, St. Louis wins, Chicago wins, Buffalo wins, Vancouver loses. That tank's not just back on, it's shifting gears!

-- Thursday

Near perfect hockey night for the tank 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #Canucks

— Luc (@lcfrst.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM

When you're home for the holidays in the 32nd level of NHL hell... what more do you need? Maybe matching some old retro records.

#Canucks will finish with 4 wins in their first 16 home games. That is tied for the lowest in franchise history through the teams first 16 games. The other four seasons are 1976/77, 1984/85, 1986/87 and 1995/96.

— Adam Kierszenblat (@adamkblat.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:43 PM

For now, there's a sliver of a micron of an invisible silver lining. Or hybrid lessons to be learned.

The Sharks are the perfect example of a rebuild. A few years of absolute dreadful hockey, collecting draft picks, make good choices and boom!!! More than a half dozen players 20 or younger and they are entertaining as hell. #Canucks

— 🇨🇦 Robin 🇨🇦 (@rocre.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:47 PM

Lucky. Celebrini's highest odds were to be drafted by Chicago. If they got the 2nd pick they would suck for another 5 years. And never be able to beat Chicago.

— DJTaxman77 (@taxman77.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 9:55 PM

As bad as the Nucks played in this game. Or as well as Tank Commander Footey permitted, there's also a dark side to Nucks lotto luck...

How often have we not moved down in the draft lottery? We got lucky getting a number 1 overall pick at 7, thanks to the Red Wings, and Petey is still the best forward from his draft year picked at 5. I hope all the people wanting a tank are gonna buy the season tickets or we will be in Atlanta.

— DJTaxman77 (@taxman77.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 10:39 PM

Do we all have to go to Atlanta? Or just those that didn't buy season tickets?

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) December 27, 2025 at 11:01 PM

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Shortie and Dave in the ROG calling the Battle of Turkey Stuffing. Or hockey.

GAME STATS

COMMENTING OUT LOUD

Rossi scores! Twice! And rewarded with a presser.

Gnarland knows what's not good enough. And what's not his job, eh, Footsey.

Demmers not happy about that 1st goal against. And a few others.

Footey ready to say they weren't ready in the ROG.

We're back to the quiet place. The last place. The ROG place.

Not for long. Nucks take to the road for a 1 game stint at the Climate Emergency Arena on Monday. Then back to the ROG on Tuesday to lose another game. Happy times!