The Vancouver Canucks face the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday evening for the second of a back-to-back weekend at Rogers Arena.
Note the irregular 6:00 p.m. start time.
Saturday night provided yet another thriller at Rogers Arena, and we will have to wait and see what Sunday brings to the home crowd. The Canucks picked up a 4-1 win on Saturday night with Elias Pettersson (D) scoring the first game-winning goal of his career.
“Tom [Willander] said before the shift to be active, so I just tried to jump down on the play, and it was a great pass by Öhgy, and it went in, so it was nice,” said Pettersson.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Golden Knights opened their season with a commanding 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. They then took their first loss of the season on Friday, losing 4-3 to the Anaheim Ducks.
- Sunday marks Vegas’ first road game of the season, with a quick two-game hit through the Pacific Northwest, as they face the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
- Vegas outshot their opponents 67-46 through their first two outings.
- Tomas Hertl leads the Knights with nine shots on net.
- Jack Eichel has come out firing in the 2026-27 season. He has a goal and four assists for five points in two games.
- Ivan Barbashev and Mark Stone join Eichel on the Knights’ top line.
- Shea Theodore leads the team in ice time, averaging 23:01 this season.
- Carter Hart made both starts for the Knights. Their backup netminder is Adin Hill.
The Story: Pushback and Building the Culture
Saturday’s game was full of the Canucks' players standing up for each other and coming together as a group in the process.
“I think you can feel in the group that these hard individual efforts are coming from a place of doing it for each other, which I feel is a bit different than it was before,” said Willander. “I think that’s very important, and that’s definitely a good step in the right direction.”
One of the players who led the push for the Canucks was veteran defenceman Luke Schenn, and Head Coach Manny Malhotra spoke about what Schenn is bringing to the group.
“There’s a reason the guy [has] played as many games as he has. Speaking to that, understanding your identity, and he hasn’t changed who he is, or he hasn’t changed his game in years, and it’s valuable. It’s valuable for a defenceman to be physical and kill plays and know that he has that presence on the ice,” said Malhotra of Schenn.
“It makes his teammates around him that much taller. So, he’s done a great job of doing exactly what we expect from Luke Schenn.”
When and Where to Watch
Sunday’s game starts at 6:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on KISS West Coast.
