The season is officially rolling along and shows no signs of stopping as the Vancouver Canucks prepare for their first back-to-back of the year, beginning with the Calgary Flames in town on Saturday night for an all-Canadian matchup.
We’ve seen a ton of action in the first two games of the Canucks' 2026-27 season. Across the pair of Canucks' outings, there has been a goal scored every 4:31 on average.
Four Canucks have four points in two games: Paul Cotter (3g-1a), Marco Rossi (3g-1a), Elias Pettersson (2g-2a), and Filip Hronek (0g-4a). Cotter has scored the Canucks' opening goal in both games this season, while Pettersson has delivered two power play markers in the very early portion of the season.
There have been positives but also negatives for the Canucks in their opening two games. Head Coach Manny Malhotra spoke about hisgroup’ss intentions as they took the ice for practice on Friday.
“Our initial focus is just making sure our energy was right coming here. One benefit of having such a tight schedule is that we don’t have time to dwell on anything. We had a great video session this morning to look at some areas that we feel we can clean up, and then from there it was just about the execution on the ice. And for me, the pace was great today. The energy was where it needed to be, and we can now turn the page,” said Malhotra.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Flames made their season debut on Thursday night with a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken at the Saddledome.
- Dustin Wolf stopped 26 of the 32 shots he faced on Thursday. Since becoming a full-time NHLer (2024-2026), he has made 109 starts, posting a 52-46-11 record with a .903% save percentage, a 2.85 goals-against average, and five shutouts.
- The Flames are without Jonathan Huberdeau, who has a hip injury.
- Their top line on Thursday saw Matvei Gridin and Matt Coronato on the wings with Morgan Frost down the middle.
The Story: First Back-to-Back
Saturday will be the beginning of the Canucks' first back-to-back of the season. The Vegas Golden Knights will be in town Sunday for their third game of the season. They play in Anaheim on Friday night.
The Canucks have 11 back-to-backs this season. The season will close with a back-to-back road trip against the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames.
Five of the back-to-backs are on home ice this season.
When and Where to Watch
Saturday’s game starts at 7:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on KISS West Coast.
