A Four-Minute Finish to a Sprinters’ Pre-Season

Three hours and 58 minutes into their pre-season schedule, the Vancouver Canucks finally grabbed their first lead on Saturday at Rogers Arena. Two minutes later, the pre-season was over following a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken. While the National Hockey League’s grueling 84-game regular season is universally understood as a marathon, this year’s condensed pre-season operated as an absolute sprint.

Spanning just 10 days—from the opening of training camp in Penticton up to Saturday’s matinee—rookie coach Manny Malhotra and his newly assembled staff had to overhaul a playbook, install a fresh team identity, evaluate a wave of incoming skaters, plug in a new goaltender, and chart the course for what general manager Ryan Johnson frames as the most ambitious rebuild in franchise history.

Malhotra expressed satisfaction with how the group pulled together just in time for the real games to begin. “I think the guys have really picked up on the concepts,” Malhotra said after his team finished the exhibition schedule at 1-3, matching their total offensive output from the previous three games combined. “Tonight was a great example of that — kind of a great way to cap off camp is that they put it all together.”

Putting the Pieces Together on the Ice

Vancouver’s late-game heroics required overcoming an early two-goal deficit against a Seattle squad they will likely scrap against near the bottom of the Pacific Division this year. The comeback climaxed with 1:38 remaining on the clock when long-tenured forward Brock Boeser fired a power-play puck that redirected off teammate Jake DeBrusk for the game-winner.

“It nicked Jake’s butt,” Boeser confirmed with reporters after the game, adding with a grin, “Yeah, it’s a big one.”

The power play clicked at an impressive 3-for-4 clip on the night. Earlier in the third period, highly touted defenseman Zeev Buium—the $75-million future of their defence—scored the equalizing goal at 11:05 following a crisp feed from Linus Karlsson. Meanwhile, 22-year-old rookie hopeful Jonathan Lekkerimaki turned in his sharpest exhibition performance, anchoring the top line and dishing a setup to Elias Pettersson for a second-period goal.

Physicality also flared up when defenseman Elias Pettersson (Junior) leveled Shane Wright with a heavy open-ice hit. Seattle’s Ryan Winterton immediately took exception and challenged the younger Pettersson to a bout, which the Canuck defenseman won handily. “If you land those big hits, then you have to stand up for yourself. And that’s what I’m going to do,” the blueliner explained.

Culture Shift and Roster Construction Under Malhotra

Behind the scenes, the primary objective for Malhotra’s staff has been healing an environment fractured by internal dysfunction over the past two seasons. That renewed camaraderie showed in the post-game locker room smiles.

“I think it definitely lifts the morale and kind of shows that we’re trending in the right direction,” veteran goaltender Kevin Lankinen noted. “It’s been an upward trajectory at camp. It’s not going to be complete right now, but we’re working and trending in the right direction, which is important.”

Buium echoed that sentiment regarding the positive atmosphere inside the room. “I think we have even more energy,” Buium said. “Knowing that the regular season is now just around the corner, I think we’re all just really excited to get going, and everybody just wants to play and, you know, compete for each other.”

With opening night approaching on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers, the team is just days away from locking in its 23-player roster. Goalie Thatcher Demko (hips) and center Filip Chytil (shoulder) will open the campaign on injured reserve, paving the way for newly claimed netminder Leevi Merilainen to back up Lankinen. The club also carried three extra skaters into the weekend—center Aatu Raty and defensemen Guillaume Brisebois and Victor Mancini.

Establishing Defensive Pairings and Key Lineups

After weeks of experimentation on the blue line, the coaching staff appears to have settled on a top-six defensive mix that pairs youth with veteran stability. Saturday’s deployment featured Buium alongside Filip Hronek, Tom Willander teamed with Jamie Oleksiak, and Elias Pettersson Junior matched with Luke Schenn.

“We’re just discussing it; all three pairs tonight worked well together,” Malhotra observed. “It’s difficult in such a small window to try to find that chemistry, but they did a good job of it. They responded well to each other, they worked well off each other.”

Up front, the forward combinations shaped up with DeBrusk centering Pettersson and Lekkerimaki on the top unit, followed by Ohgren, Filip Rossi, and Boeser on the second line. O’Connor, Sasson, and Karlsson formed the third group, while Bains, Cotter, and Gallagher rounded out the fourth line. Malhotra also praised the evolution of star center Elias Pettersson, whose proactive style has injected life into the attack. “His confidence is back. He’s playing like himself,” Malhotra stated.

Now, the real test begins. The squad departs for Edmonton to kick off a demanding schedule.