Hurricanes Hand Canucks Eighth Straight Loss in Vancouver

VANCOUVER — Carolina's finishing power proved decisive against Vancouver on Tuesday night, as the Hurricanes defeated the Canucks 6-3 at Rogers Arena. Logan Stankoven, Nikolaj Ehlers and Nicolas Deslauriers scored twice apiece, extending Vancouver's losing streak to eight games and improving Carolina's record to 8-2-1.

The defending Stanley Cup champions outshot Vancouver 42-17, according to The Province, but needed Deslauriers' third-period goal to break a 3-3 tie. Ehlers subsequently scored again before setting up Stankoven's empty-net goal, while Carolina goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov finished with 14 saves.

Vancouver fell to 2-8-1 despite goals from Linus Karlsson, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Max Sasson. Goaltender Leevi Merilainen stopped 26 shots, and the Canucks successfully killed all four Carolina power plays despite entering the game with the NHL's worst penalty-kill percentage at 58.1 percent.

The game followed an emotional pregame tribute to former broadcaster John Garrett, who died of a heart attack on April 27 at age 74. The Province reported that the tribute and the presence of Garrett's family brought a sentimental atmosphere to Rogers Arena before the Canucks' latest defeat.

The rallying message surrounding the tribute was captured in the phrase:

"Win it for Cheech."

Vancouver twice recovered from first-period deficits and tied the score 2-2 with just 1.1 seconds remaining in the opening period. Lekkerimaki scored the equalizer after Karlsson had earlier restored parity, giving the home team a chance to carry its momentum into the second period.

Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra acknowledged that his team had shown encouraging stretches but needed to maintain its performance throughout the game. He pointed to the difference between competing for most of a contest and sustaining that effort against elite opposition.

"It's a really good lesson when our game lacks details and we have to claw and scratch to stay in games," said Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra. "Forty-five or 50 (minutes) is not good enough in this league. You have to stay with the process.

It's on us as a staff to continue to teach and find the positives in our game. It's real easy to find the negatives and find mistakes. The position we've been in the last few games against good teams, there's something good going on there.

But good teams find a crack and exploit it."

Vancouver again demonstrated resilience in the second period. After Carolina moved ahead 3-2 through Deslauriers, Sasson scored to make it 3-3, capitalizing on a play involving Arshdeep Bains near the net. The Canucks also killed successive penalties during the period, including a sequence that ended with Sebastian Aho missing a penalty shot.

Sasson said the team's inability to turn close contests into victories had become increasingly difficult for the players. He noted that Vancouver had completed its penalty-killing assignments and scored on the power play, yet still could not secure a result.

"Pretty small," agreed Canucks centre Max Sasson.

Sasson explained that the team's special-teams performance had offered reason to expect a better outcome, but the recurring pattern of entering the third period level and subsequently losing remained a problem. Carolina's experience and confidence showed when the game reached its decisive moments.

"If you would have told me our penalty kill goes 4-for-4 and your power play scores a goal, you would like to think the result would be different. But, obviously, we keep getting into these third periods tied and keep coming up on the wrong side. We've got figure it out.

A team that won the Cup comes in and maybe has more of an edge to their game in the third and more confidence. I think we did some decent things, but we can't stop playing after they score the fourth. We have to at least give ourselves a chance."

Deslauriers supplied the go-ahead goal at 4:07 of the third period, finishing a pass from Bradly Nadeau. The 35-year-old forward's goal was his first since April 2025, according to Sportsnet. Ehlers then scored an unassisted goal at 10:21 before assisting on Stankoven's empty-net finish with just over two minutes remaining.

The Canucks' frustration was evident as Sasson described the emotional strain of the team's extended slide.

"Extreme," stressed Sasson.

Carolina's victory also extended its winning streak against Vancouver to six consecutive games dating back to October 2024. The Hurricanes had previously defeated the Canucks 7-2 on October 8, according to Sportsnet.

Kochetkov preserved Carolina's advantage late in the second period by catching Drew O'Connor's shot, preventing Vancouver from taking the lead. Ehlers also briefly left the ice after contact along the boards in the second period while appearing to favor his right leg, but returned after speaking with a trainer.

Vancouver is scheduled to host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, while Carolina will travel to Edmonton to face the Oilers.