The Vancouver Canucks set the fans home at Rogers Arena happy as they defeated the Calgary Flames 5-1 to kick off their 2025-26 regular season. Kiefer Sherwood, Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Brock Boeser each scored once while Filip Chytil found the back of the net twice in the victory. As for Thatcher Demko, he stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced for his first win of the season.
Thursday’s game was close until the Canucks took control in the third period. Vancouver scored four times in the final 20 minutes while limiting the Flames to just five shots in the third. The game also featured some massive hits, which were originally called majors until they were downgraded to minors after video review.
Looking at standouts, one of the Canucks best forwards was Chytil, who scored twice. He also led the team in shots with five while recording 16:25 of ice time. Considering the injury issues Chytil went through last season, Thursday’s game was a welcome sight as he was able to provide offence as the team’s second-line center.
Thursday was also a special night as Braeden Cootes made his NHL debut. The 2025 first-rounder played 11:14 and was able to record his first career hit. Post-game, Cootes spoke to the media about his first game and the crowd at Rogers Arena.
“They’re awesome,” said Cootes. “They’re so passionate. They’re for sure like the best fans in the league. Honestly, that’s it’s a pretty cool building to play in, and a ton of support. So couldn’t be more thankful for that.”
As for some areas that need improvement, Vancouver’s power play went zero for four while only recording six shots on net. While the Canucks did generate some chances, their passing was off, which led to easy zone clears for the Flames. For Vancouver’s power play to be successful, they need to move the puck quickly and space themselves out in open ice, which will provide the puck carrier with more passing options.
Clearing the puck out of the defensive zone was also a problematic trend during this game. The Canucks struggled to clear the zone which led to scoring chances for Calgary. In the end, Vancouver was lucky as Demko came up with some massive saves to keep the Flames off the board.
They were good, said Foote when asked about the defensive structure of his team. I thought the structure was good. We didn’t give them too much. The mistakes we made, we covered over pretty good. Between the dots. I think coming to our landmarks inside really helped us when we did make a mistake, leaving our zone or leaving their zone, we hustled back. Those things stopped more damage.”
Overall, Thursday was a good start to the 2025-26 season for the Canucks. 10 players recorded points, while 12 were credited with at least one hit. While there are some areas that need some work, Vancouver played a solid game and were deserving of the win on opening night.
Stats and Facts:
– Kiefer Sherwood becomes the 20th undrafted player to record 960 hits
– Scoring his 79th career goal, Filip Chytil breaks his tie with Petr Prucha and is now in sole possession of the 54th most goals by a player from Czechia in NHL history.
– Recording his 121st assist with Vancouver, Conor Garland breaks his tie with Matt Cooke for 44th all-time in franchise history
– Filip Chytil records his first game-winning goal since joining the Canucks
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
14:53- VAN: Kiefer Sherwood (1) from Drew O’Connor
2nd Period:
No scoring
3rd Period:
2:54- VAN: Filip Chytil (1)
8:52- VAN: Filip Chytil (2) from Arshdeep Bains
11:42- VAN: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (1) from Evander Kane and Conor Garland
13:04- CGY: Morgan Frost (1) from Yegor Sharangovich and Joel Farabee
17:05- VAN: Brock Boeser (1) from Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk
Up Next:
The Canucks hit the road for a Saturday night battle against the Edmonton Oilers. Last season, Vancouver lost the head-to-head matchup with Edmonton, going 1-2-0 against their Pacific Division rivals. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm on October 11 at Rogers Place.
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