{"id":525396,"date":"2026-03-27T09:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/525396\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:09:16","slug":"canucks-vs-kings-march-26-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/525396\/","title":{"rendered":"Canucks vs Kings, March 26, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Vancouver Canucks\u2019 season ticket renewal emails went out this week, so it was a great time for the Canucks to lay an egg on home ice.<\/p>\n

Actually, if the Canucks had laid a literal egg on the ice, that might have actually improved ticket sales. People would be like, \u201cWhoa, where did that egg come from?! I\u2019m going to tell all my friends and make sure we come to future home games in case they do it again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Alas, the egg-laying on the ice was merely metaphorical, as was the goose egg on the scoreboard, a figure of speech for the zero goals the Canucks scored against the Los Angeles Kings.<\/p>\n

Is it at all surprising that the Canucks were badly outplayed by the Kings? <\/p>\n

Of course not. <\/p>\n

The Kings are in the midst of a playoff race, just one point back of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They\u2019re desperate for every point they can get, and that desperation is showing on the ice, as they worked to win every battle.<\/p>\n

Those battle wins led to territorial domination, especially in the second period, which is where the game was essentially decided. Shot attempts were 34-to-8 for the Kings at 5-on-5 in the second period.<\/p>\n

\u201cDots to the boards, that\u2019s where playoff teams play,\u201d said Canucks head coach Adam Foote. \u201cThey\u2019re big, they\u2019re heavy, they\u2019re desperate, and they want to make the playoffs. And they came out flying in the second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Canucks are just playing out the stretch, with little to play for beyond trying to establish some sort of culture for the future and auditioning to be part of said future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard knowing that we\u2019re eliminated, obviously,\u201d said Brock Boeser. \u201cOther teams have so much to play for\u2026It can be hard at times, but you\u2019ve got to keep the right mindset. A lot of guys have a lot to play for to finish the year out here. We\u2019ve got to stick together as a team, we\u2019ve got to work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much has been said about the improved vibes around the Canucks room, with young players like Zeev Buium and Tom Willander saying all the right things<\/a> about creating a culture in Vancouver, but games like this one show that the team has an incredibly long way to go. There should be no illusions about where they\u2019re starting from: it\u2019s square one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard on everybody right now. It\u2019s not easy,\u201d said Filip Hronek. \u201cBut we have to learn from this. No one else is going to help us; we have to keep grinding.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true: no one helped me when I watched this game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had them in the first,\u201d said Foote after the game about a period in which they were outshot 15-to-7.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a pretty common Foote-ism, usually said when a game has gotten completely away from the team in the second period. In other words, he\u2019s had plenty of opportunities to say it this season. One has to wonder, does Foote know what \u201chad them\u201d means?<\/p>\n

The only reason the Canucks were only down by one goal after the first period is that Kevin Lankinen made a series of sterling saves. Thankfully, they weren\u2019t Scott Sterling saves<\/a>, or Lankinen might not have made it back onto the ice for the second period. <\/p>\n

It took a power play and a lucky deflection for the Kings to open the scoring late in the first. Scott Laughton set up shop in front of Lankinen, and Quinton Byfield\u2019s shot from the top of the right faceoff circle deflected in off Laughton\u2019s knee. There wasn\u2019t much Lankinen could have done, except maybe politely ask his penalty killers not to allow a free shot from the top of the right faceoff circle.<\/p>\n

The Kings made it 2-0 early in the second period, as a floating point shot from Mikey \u201cAdult-Man-Named-Mikey\u201d Anderson was tipped in by Trevor Moore, who was left wide open by Liam \u00d6hgren. That\u2019s the kind of thing that happens in a defensive system<\/a> that asks rookie forwards to try to defend the front of the net as if they\u2019re veteran defencemen. <\/p>\n

Byfield initially didn\u2019t get an assist on the goal, despite it appearing as if he tipped Anderson\u2019s shot. Then he was granted an assist\u2026and then it was taken away again. Man, what a roller coaster ride that was.<\/p>\n

I feel like this one play encapsulates the Canucks\u2019 offensive efforts in this game (which were definitely offensive): the BR\u00d6 Line has a decent build-up with a couple of good passes, as Liam \u00d6hgren gains the zone and finds Marco Rossi, who feeds Brock Boeser streaking up the right wing. And then, just as he\u2019s about to unleash his shot, the puck rolls right off Boeser\u2019s stick.<\/p>\n

The Canucks created some quality chances, particularly Nils H\u00f6glander and Elias Pettersson in the third period, but the recipients of their passes kept missing the net or failing to even get a shot off. There was just a complete lack of payoff to some quality setups, as if they were directed by J.J. Abrams. <\/p>\n

Tom Willander had a marathon shift midway through the second period, as he got trapped on the ice for over three minutes \u2014 3:17, to be exact. It was partly his own fault, as he iced the puck 1:20 into his shift, but Nils H\u00f6glander and Linus Karlsson also failed to get the puck deep enough for a line change, leaving him absolutely exhausted as he desperately defended in his own zone. <\/p>\n

Willander was clearly frustrated on the bench, whether with himself or his forwards who failed to help him out. My amateur lip-reading skills see, \u201cYou\u2019re f*cking kidding me\u2026Three f*cking minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat stuff starts with the turnovers, honestly,\u201d said Boeser. \u201cWhen the forwards don\u2019t get the puck deep, it results in the D no being able to change. I think that\u2019s just awareness out there \u2014\u00a0you need to have the awareness of when one of your D is super tired, and you\u2019ve got to help them get off the ice. You\u2019ve got to grind one out, get to the red line, and get the puck deep for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of turnovers, Jake DeBrusk had an ugly one in the final minute of the second period. Under pressure from Adrian Kempe, DeBrusk handed the puck right to Artemi Panarin, who flipped a deceptive backhand past Lankinen\u2019s blocker after Lankinen had robbed him with a pair of glove saves earlier in the game.<\/p>\n

Down by three goals, Foote decided to pull Lankinen for the extra attacker with 5:36 left in regulation, which is certainly a choice. That\u2019s definitely a thing you can<\/a> do. The official NHL rules do not preclude such a scenario.<\/p>\n

Byfield scored into the empty net from the neutral zone to make it 4-0 and, as pointed out by Adam Kierszenblat<\/a>, he helped the Canucks set a new franchise record for the most empty goals against in a single season with 21, surpassing last season\u2019s new franchise record of 20. This isn\u2019t because the Canucks have been in a bunch of close games, but largely because Foote has insisted on pulling the goaltender to go 6-on-5 when games are completely out of reach.<\/p>\n

The game had a little brouhaha before the final horn, as a tussle broke out with just over a minute left. Every skater on the ice got involved to one degree or another, though it appeared to start with Linus Karlsson and Samuel Helenius continuing the Sweden-vs-Finland feud in the neutral zone.<\/p>\n

The scuffle featured some bush league stuff from Kings forward Jeff Malott, who first went after Linus Karlsson, then Teddy Blueger, and finally Tom Willander. He was going after players already engaged with another King and throwing punches over top of linesmen, all while his team was up 4-0 with barely a minute left in the game. The 6\u20195\u201d winger, who has 10 points in 67 career games at the age of 29 and had a grand total of 7:19 in ice time in this game, was well deserving of Willander\u2019s burn: \u201cDo you even play hockey?\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s some \u201cDo you even lift, bro?<\/a>\u201d energy from Willander. <\/p>\n

That clip also shows a very upset Zeev Buium leaving the ice after he dropped the gloves with Brandt Clarke in the midst of the melee. It was his first career fight, but he at least had a little practice<\/a> beforehand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou lose like that, especially on home ice, it\u2019s never fun,\u201d said Buium. \u201cYou see your teammates getting jumped a little bit \u2014 they\u2019re up 4-0, I don\u2019t think that necessarily needs to happen \u2014 but I\u2019m glad that we all stuck up for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to see some fire and passion from the Canucks\u2019 young players, though it would be preferable for that fire and passion to show itself in improved play on the ice rather than harsh burns and fisticuffs, but when the team is in last place, fans will take what they can get. The Canucks have gone gentle into that good night<\/a> a few too many times in recent years. Sometimes, you need a little rage against the dying of the light.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading Pass it to Bulis! This post is public so feel free to share it.<\/p>\n

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