In what has become a familiar result, the Vancouver Canucks lost again. This time, it was a 6–4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks held the first-period lead for a while. Nevertheless, Nikolaj Ehlers scored a hat trick for Carolina, including an empty-netter with 14 seconds remaining, concluding the victory.
The Hurricanes came out flying and put the pressure on Vancouver almost immediately, with Carolina outscoring the Canucks 12-1 in the first nine minutes. Still, the Canucks answered, at least early on, and for any fans looking for a glimmer of hope, that part matters.
Andrei Svechnikov opened the scoring on a Carolina power play 1:17 into the game, but Marco Rossi tied it on the man advantage at 16:31, and Filip Hronek later scored to put the Canucks up 2–1 before intermission.
Hronek finished with a goal and two assists, while Elias Pettersson added two assists in one of Vancouver's better offensive nights in weeks.
when things went wrong
It broke in the second period. again.
Sean Walker made it 2-2 at 2:30, Ehlers made it 3-2 at 4:19, and Sebastian Aho pushed it to 4-2 on another quick chance at 11:53.
NHL.com noted that Kevin Lankinen was pulled after allowing four goals on 22 shots, and the switch did not settle things as Ehlers scored on the first shot faced by Nikita Tolopilo for a 5–2 lead less than a minute later.
That explosive sequence was fatal. The Canucks pushed back, but the hole was already deep.
Brock Boeser scored on a 5-on-3 late in the second, then Nils Hoglander made it 5-4 on Pettersson's one-timer at 6:45 of the third.
For a moment, it looked like the Canucks might steal some of the chaos back. Brandon Bussey made a late save for Carolina, and Ehlers completed a hat trick with an empty-net goal.
A slim bright spot for Canucks fans
The one real positive was the power play. The Canucks scored twice with the man advantage, the first time the Canucks have done so since January 2 against Seattle.
Foote said the group is working on it, and with so many bad nights, an increase in confidence is at least something to point to.
It's also the second 10-goal Canucks game this season, following a wild 8-5 loss at Florida in November. It's not exactly the kind of category Canucks fans want to revisit, but it does underline how loose the game has become.
nhl draft lottery update
The Canucks sit at 43 points, and the NHL Draft Lottery conversation is no longer a background topic. It's front and center now.
The standings changed Wednesday night and St. Louis beat Seattle 3-2, moving the Rangers to 31st with 54 points, while the Canucks remained buried in the high-pick mix.
With the March 7 trade deadline approaching, this matters. Advancing in the playoffs no longer seems realistic, and the conversation has clearly shifted toward what can be built from here.
