The Vancouver Canucks had another tough night Monday at Rogers Arena, falling 2-0 to the Ottawa Senators. It was one of those games where nothing felt completely awful, but very little actually worked either.
Ottawa goalie James Reimer stopped all 16 shots for his first shutout of the season, keeping the Senators on a strong roll and climbing the Eastern Conference standings. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s struggles continue. The Canucks now have just one win in their past 10 games and only three in their last 26.
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The biggest issue was the Canucks lack of offence. Vancouver managed only 16 shots and just three in the third period—even with two power plays. Once again, the Canucks competed, but they simply didn’t have enough finish to change the outcome.
Topic 1: The Canucks’ Offence Has Disappeared
If there’s one number that jumps out from this game, it’s the aforementioned low shot total. Even more concerning, they produced just three in the third period, including two power plays without a single shot.
Ironically, on the same night former Canucks winger Conor Garland scored twice for his new team (the Columbus Blue Jackets), Vancouver couldn’t solve the Ottawa backup in Reimer. That tells you all you need to know about the Canucks’ recent slide.
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They aren’t getting blown out every night, but the offence has dried up to the point where even a one-goal deficit feels massive. When you only score once—or not at all—there’s almost no margin for error. Right now, Vancouver just isn’t generating enough pressure around the net to turn games around.
Topic 2: Kevin Lankinen Is Giving the Canucks a Chance
Lost in the frustration is the fact that Kevin Lankinen actually played a solid game. He stopped 22 of 23 shots, keeping Vancouver within one goal for most of the night. The first Ottawa goal came off a weird deflection, leaving him little chance to react.
On many nights this season, the Canucks’ goaltending has been solid enough to win games. The problem is the offence hasn’t been there to support it. For a goalie, that’s a tough spot—every single goal against feels massive. Lankinen did what he could, and sometimes that’s all you can ask.
Topic 3: Curtis Douglas Makes His Canucks Debut
There was at least one small bright spot. Forward Curtis Douglas, claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, made his Canucks debut in place of Evander Kane, out with and upper-body injury. He played just under seven minutes but finished with four hits and brought some physical presence to the bottom of the lineup.
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It could be that Douglas will get some minutes with his new team. It’s a small sample, but at this stage of the season, Vancouver is clearly testing out different pieces. When a team is struggling like this, sometimes the most interesting stories come from the players trying to carve out a future with the club.
What’s Next for the Canucks?
There’s no way to hide from the Canucks numbers. The team has only won three of its last 26 games. That’s a stretch that can turn a rough season into a long one. Effort hasn’t always been bad—some nights the Canucks compete and keep games close—but close doesn’t mean much if you can’t score.
The team is fun to watch, but at this point, the focus may be less on results and more on signs of progress—whether that’s from younger players, new lineup combinations, or simply rediscovering offensive confidence. Vancouver needs a spark, and fast.
If you’re a long-time Canucks fan, your head tells you that losing at this point of the season isn’t such a bad thing. Still, it can be frustrating to see the team play so hard yet achieve little success.
