Canucks Crushed 6–1 By Kyle Connor And The Winnipeg Jets

After their most complete game of 2025, the Vancouver Canucks fell 6–1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Winnipeg’s goal scorers were Kyle Connor (3), Neal Pionk, Nino Niederreiter, and Mark Scheifele. Nils Höglander scored the lone goal for the Canucks. Kevin Lankinen and Connor Hellebuyck started the game for their respective teams, with the goaltenders making 27 saves on 33 shots and 23 saves on 24 shots respectively.

Vancouver’s day got off to a positive start, as it was confirmed that Filip Hronek would be coming back into the lineup after missing seven weeks of playing time due to injury. He started the game alongside Quinn Hughes and played 20:50. Now, the Canucks are only one player away from being fully healthy.

Early on in the first period, the Canucks crowded Winnipeg in their own zone, doing a good job of keeping the puck out of their own zone by bringing it closer to Hellebuyck. Though, after about five minutes, the Jets were able to regain their footing and begin pressing shots on Lankinen. Both teams were good at bringing the puck out of their own zone, but couldn’t seem to set up once they’d made it outside.

The first goal of the game was scored on a seemingly harmless play, in which Lankinen came out of his net to grab the puck along the boards. However, the puck bounced over to an open Connor, who made no mistake in shooting it into the near-open net. Vancouver shook the goal off quickly, applying pressure the other way, but quickly got hemmed back in their own zone by Adam Lowry’s line.

Vancouver got the first power play of the game off a slashing call on Dylan Samberg. To start, the Canucks iced a unit of Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and Jake DeBrusk. While Vancouver tried making some passes, the puck ended up on Lowry’s stick. A couple of quick strides sent him on a breakaway that ended up being caught by Lankinen. The second unit of J.T. Miller, Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, and Pius Suter also got some chances, but neither unit was able to score.

Winnipeg took a 2–0, and soon after 3–0, lead before the first period was over. Connor scored all three goals, with the second coming off a backhand shot that fluttered past Lankinen. The third was scored off another surrendered breakaway, the chance coming in part due to a weak back check from Vancouver. Connor has scored 15 goals against the Canucks in 25 games played, and has the most points against Vancouver than any other team in his career.

The second period started with yet another Jets goal, bringing their lead up to 4–0. Winnipeg’s forecheck succeeded in getting the puck to Pionk, who shot from the blueline and put the puck past Lankinen. Even after the 4–0 goal, Vancouver remained trapped in their own zone. It was a lengthy span of dump-and-chase for both teams until Winnipeg set up a couple of offensive-zone plays.

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The Jets were granted a power play after Tyler Myers was called for tripping, though Vancouver was able to clean up their zone and disrupt some of Winnipeg’s passes. Arguably, the best chance of Winnipeg’s man-advantage came from the Canucks, when Suter, Carson Soucy, and Teddy Blueger brought the puck into the Jets’ zone and nearly got a goal off a wraparound attempt.

Just when the game started looking slower, an unfortunate shot from the goal line bounced off Lankinen’s back and into the net, bringing the score up to 5–0. Despite the early attempts to control the game with controlled possession, Vancouver eventually relented, ending the second period with 17 shots compared to Winnipeg’s 29.

Vancouver started the third period with Myers taking another penalty, this time for hooking. Up until this point, the Canucks’ penalty kill had looked decent, effectively breaking up Winnipeg’s passes and even generating chances. However, within seconds of Myers’ call, some crisp passing past the Canucks’ net — then back in front of Lankinen — resulted in Scheifele burying the puck for a 6–0 lead.

In a game permeated by negatives, one positive stood out. Off an effort to drive to the net, Höglander curled into the offensive zone and shot the puck past Hellebuyck, breaking his streak of 34 games without a goal. It was his third goal of the season, all of which have been scored on even strength. In 17 games against the Jets, Höglander has nine goals and one assist. With the monkey now off his back, fans hope that Höglander can get back to his 24-goal form from last season.

Facts and Stats:

• Canucks surrender in the first goal of the game for the 25th time this season

• Vancouver allows their first hat trick against this season

• Kiefer Sherwood registers 10 hits for the third time this season

• Canucks surrender more than six goals in one game for the fourth time this season

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

6:59 - WPG: Kyle Connor (24) from Gabriel Vilardi

13:01 - WPG: Kyle Connor (25) from Neal Pionk and Gabriel Vilardi

13:37 - WPG: Kyle Connor (26) from Gabriel Vilardi and Mark Scheifele

2nd Period:

0:39 - WPG: Neal Pionk (6) from Cole Perfetti

15:06 - WPG: Nino Niederreiter (12) from Rasmum Kupari and Cole Perfetti

3rd Period:

1:31 - WPG: Mark Scheifele (26) from Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor

9:16 - VAN: Nils Höglander (3)

Up Next:

Vancouver returns home to face the L.A. Kings on Thursday, January 16. Their last match against the Kings was on November 7, when an illegal hit by Tanner Jeannot knocked Boeser out of the game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.

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