Great Tanking News! Last Place Secured Again! Unfortunately.

Good news... Hogz squashed a jobbing ref and scored a PP goal.

Here's what we learned:

Canucks started the game semi-decent. Only trailing by a goal after the 1st. Unfortunately, HNIC made Nucks play another couple periods.

Not saying we were getting flashbacks of terrible defending just before the last management regime was fired. Prolly just a coincidence...

For some reason, this quote from Jim Rutherford back in 2022 has popped into my head: "If we were playing in a really strong structure, it would make it easier for our defence to play and it wouldn’t matter who was on our defence." #Canucks

— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:29 PM

So... Footey is the new Bruce?

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:32 PM

Without the fun of an 8 game win streak.

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:40 PM

Tanks for the memories!

Period 1

Tolo gets his 1st start in a couple weeks. You know what they say about a goalie not getting enough starts?

They get rusty, lose confidence and give up a couple quick goals in the 1st few minutes of the game.

2-0 Flams.

Late 1st, Nucks stop the big bad Wolf shutout with an Öhgren goal. Beauty between-the-legs pass from Petey to Karlsson to set it up.

2-1 Flamers. Shots 10-7 Nucks.

We finally got to see Douglas Fir performing at his native aptitude.

#Canucks Curtis Douglas: 6'9", 242 lbs #Flames Adam Klapka: 6'8", 235 lbs Now that is a heavyweight fight

— Adam Kierszenblat (@adamkblat.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 7:20 PM

In this game of records, this fight ties the NHL record for the two tallest players going high-flying fisticuffs.

Period 2

This might sound familiar, but when a goalie hasn't played in awhile, timing and goalie thinging aren't the thing we hope for.

Tolo lets in another couple quick ones. One was tipped and not his fault. The 2nd one... well... in comes Lanky.

And he's much better.

Wow...one shot on lanky...in the net. Five seconds he played. FIVE SECONDS. lol

-- Twitch

We need a 3rd goalie..

-- Atty

Nucks are now down a number of goals. Is it a high number? Not yet.

This is life as the worst team in the league. #Canucks

— CrankyCanucksFan 🇨🇦🏒 (@crankycanucksfan.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 8:19 PM

Pretty bad sportsmanship for the Flames to not swap goalies with us at half time #Canucks

— Ian St. (@ian-st.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 8:31 PM

Anyhow... Canucks get a PP mid-2nd and Brock fires a Brocket past the big bad Wolf.

Wooo Boesser!

-- Twitch

Late 2nd the Flamboys get a PP... and Nucks PK was doing well... until it wasn't.

Nobody even thought about stepping up in front of Parekh? Just watching him mesmerized?
What kind of defense is that?

-- Atty

Canucks defense...that's footey canucks defense. It's literally our team identity this season.

-- Twitch

The 2nd period ends with a debatable score. Canucks have 2 goals taken off the board. One for goalie interference - whatever that is - if we were the Cats, it'd be a good goal. And worse Douglas scored his 1st NHL goal. So the refs screwed that up too. Claim they blew the whistle because the Wolfenstopper had frozen the puck - it hadn't and trickled over the goal line. So Canucks.

2nd period ends with the HNIC-endorsed score stated as 6-2 Cowtown. Lies!

Canucks put 14 shots on goal - scored 3 and had 2 taken away for reasons.

No worries. We're still feeling good about the team... or bad. I forget.

This is bad hockey, but a different kind of bad hockey from what they brought against the Kings on Thursday.

— Lachlan Irvine (@lachinthecrease.com) March 28, 2026 at 8:54 PM

Their badness contains multitudes. #Canucks

— CrankyCanucksFan 🇨🇦🏒 (@crankycanucksfan.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 8:59 PM

it’s both bad and uninteresting to watch, like the Torts year but somehow worse

— Smoke E. Doodle 🇨🇦 (@carsandguitars.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:01 PM

Period 3

If ever there was a big pushback period this might be it.

Nucks tried to get more than a half dozen goals, but had to settle for one. And it was the best two-for-one play we'll likely see for generations.

At the end of another Nucks PP Hogz is chasing the puck on boards behind the Flam net. Stupid ref is blocking the path to the puck. Hogz dinna care. Bowls over the ref, gets the puck, passes back to the point. Then tips the point shot past the weird Wolf.

He's living out our fantasies! Knocking down an official and scoring a PP goal. Woooohoo!

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:36 PM

Do it for all of us, Högs!!!

— CrankyCanucksFan 🇨🇦🏒 (@crankycanucksfan.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 10:55 PM

Nucks are totally coming back. Maybe not this game... but still some game, some season.

Late(ish), with the 2nd Nucks goalie of the game pulled for the Footey play, Flamer knocks the puck over the glass.

It's a 7-on-4 Nucking PP. Or would be if the rules were fair, since we pulled 2 goalies.

Anyhow, as twisted up fate would have it, Rossi takes a tripping call while trying to prevent shortie into the doubly unoccupied net. No Footey was scored... but maybe worse, Flams score on their PP.

The game ended, despite HNIC wanting it to embarrass the Canucks further.

The final score - according to the jobbed league record, 7-2 Cowtown.

Not a great road game for the Canucks and their backup goalies and backup defenders and their rookie coach.

But still...

#Canucks begin their road trip with an excellent 7-5 loss. Some at NHL command claim it was a 7-3 loss, but whatever. Close game, except for the 2 disallowed goals, another game with a 2nd period and the Footey D-system.

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:51 PM

Some were wondering about things... despairing others.

Can someone throw an Adam Foote jersey on the ice? #canucks

— R. Santos (@thedirtysantos.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 9:51 PM

OBSERVATIONS:

Not great road performance. It was like watching a last place team that had been coached by a rookie who couldn't over 70+ games, teach his highly evolved defensive structure to a group of professional hockey players.

FUN RECORD:
Canucks have accumulated 25 3+ goal diff losses this season, 2nd all time. A few more games to beat that team from 1972. Historically bad. Something to play for.

Players of Interest:

• EP40 played really well. 2 apples. 3 shots. 55% in the dot.
• Brocks leads Nucks in scoring with 47 goals! (checks notes, 17 goals... I was close)

Some Nucks fan love for the coach...

Rutherford has to fire Foote and his entire staff and then have Allvin fall on the sword as well. That's the only way forward. Bring in Malhotra and let him grow with the team like St. Louis in MON. Keep EP40, Boeser, Hronek, M. Pettersson and move forward.

-- Petrishriekandgo on Bluesky

Not to sound greedy... but couldn't we have a live televised event where the fans fire Footey? Not out of a cannon, but that could be a nice theatrical touch. Guaranteed sell-out at the ROG.

— NucksMisconduct (@nucksmisconduct.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 10:11 PM

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

There's homerism and then there's Cowtown HNIC coverage. Mute button recap.

GAME STATS

COMMENTING OUT LOUD

Petey talks about needing D... all other D place.

Footey gots some 'splaining to do... Footesplaining.

Well... that was a game. And now it's over.

Not to put too much of a damper on this so-far-so-good road trip, but Nucks play on Monday. In Vegas. Wonder what the odds are on that game.