Canucks blanked by Kraken as playoff hopes dim

By Canadian Press on April 3, 2025.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks went into Wednesday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken knowing that they needed every point they could get to stay alive in the NHL’s Western Conference playoff race.

Instead, they finished the night listening to a chorus of boos from the remaining fans at Rogers Arena, following a 5-0 loss to their Pacific Northwest rivals.

“Really frustrating,” said defenseman Marcus Pettersson. “We know they’re good off the rush, and they got a lot of chances off the rush. So, yeah, it’s deflating. We’ve got to pick ourselves back up and get back into the fight.”

The Canucks (34-28-13) are now 0-2-1 in their last three games, while already-eliminated Seattle’s first win in three games moved them to 32-38-6.

“It sucks that we’re not the ones fighting for the playoff spot,” said Shane Wright, who picked up his 18th goal of the year. “But anytime you can take out a division rival in a game that’s important for them, it always feels good for sure.

After the Minnesota Wild picked up a point in an overtime loss to the New York Rangers earlier on Wednesday, Vancouver sits eight points behind the Wild and the St. Louis Blues, who hold the two wild-card spots in the West. Vancouver has seven games remaining. Minnesota and St. Louis each have six.

“Everyone’s looking at the standings daily and you know what the percentages are,” said captain Quinn Hughes, who once again finished as Vancouver’s ice-time leader at 27:45.

“I know it’s the same old thing coaches say, but you’ve got to keep getting at it, working at it,” said coach Rick Tocchet. “We’ve just got to relax in certain situations. Intensity, but relax. There’s plays there, and I just think we’re not finding them.”

The Canucks held the early edge in Wednesday’s action, earning two power plays. Seattle’s Joey Daccord showed that he was on his game when he snagged a Drew O’Connor one-timer with his glove on a shorthanded 2-on-1 with 5:11 left in the first period.

“Garland made a really good play and drew some guys in, and then made a really nice pass to that guy back door,” Daccord said. “I just tried to get over and be big. Sometimes those go in, and sometimes you make a save. That one found a way into my glove, which was great.”

Less than two minutes later, Mikey Eyssimont scored what proved to be the game winner when he intercepted an errant pass by Jake DeBrusk, then skated in alone and went five-hole on Thatcher Demko.

Chandler Stephenson and Wright increased the lead in the second, then Andre Burakovsky made the score 4-0 in the third before Adam Larsson hit the empty net with 3:36 left on the clock.

Daccord finished with 25 saves for his fifth career shutout and second this season.

“I always say a shutout is always a team result,” he said. “The goalie is going to make saves every game, but when the guys do an amazing job, like they did tonight, blocking shots, keeping guys to the outside, eliminating the grade-As, it makes my life a lot easier.”

The Canucks were shut out for the fourth time this year, and the third time on home ice. Early in the season, the team struggled to find success in front of the home fans. Wednesday’s effort echoed those issues, but Pettersson wants fans to know that the team will continue to fight.

“We need them, and they’ve been great,” he said. “We want to do everything for them. So, get right back into the fight.”

WALKING WOUNDED: The Kraken were without their two top goal scorers on Wednesday, as both Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen didn’t dress. For Vancouver, Elias Pettersson (the forward) and Nils Hoglander each missed their fifth-straight games after suffering injuries during the team’s just-completed road trip.

Tyler Myers also missed the final 11:47 with an undisclosed issue. “He got banged up,” Tocchet said. “He wanted to keep going, but I shut him down.”

UP NEXT: The Canucks will continue their homestand on Saturday afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks. Next up for the Kraken, a visit to San Jose on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2025.

By Carol Schram, The Canadian Press