Game Notes: Canucks vs. Senators

December 21, 2024

CANUCKS VS SENATORS

TV: CBC, Sportsnet, CITY, TVAS2

Radio: Sportsnet 650

MATCH-UP INFO

Tonight marks the second of two meetings between the Canucks and Senators this season: Nov. 23 (road, 4-3 W) and Dec. 21 (home). Vancouver is 37-19-2-3 all-time against Ottawa, including a 20-8-1-2 record at home. The Canucks are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games against the Senators (5-0-0 in their last 5). J.T. Miller leads all active Canucks skaters in scoring against Ottawa with 27 points (13-14-27) in 37 career games. In 14 career games against the Senators, Elias Pettersson has 22 points (10-12-22). Quinn Hughes has 18 points (1-17-18) in 18 career games against Ottawa. In 19 career games against the Senators, Brock Boeser has 17 points (8-9-17). Max Sasson scored his first career point against the Senators in his NHL debut on Nov. 23. Thatcher Demko is 8-3-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in 12 career appearances against Ottawa. Kevin Lankinen has one career start against the Senators, holding a record of 1-0-0 with a 3.09 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage.

QUICK NUMBERS

Quinn Hughes has 14 points (2-12-14) in his last 11 games. Elias Pettersson has 11 points (2-9-11) in his last 12 games. J.T. Miller has eight points (1-7-8) in his last eight home games. Kiefer Sherwood has eight points (7-1-8) in his last nine home games.

LAST MEETING – NOV. 23/24: VAN 4 at OTT 3

Jake DeBrusk opened the scoring with under a minute-and-a-half remaining in the first period…Conor Garland and Filip Hronek picked up the assists…Brady Tkachuk tied the game early in the second…Teddy Blueger re-took the lead for Vancouver just before the 10minute mark of the second…Max Sasson and Tyler Myers had the assists…DeBrusk scored his second of the night with just under seven minutes left in the second…Kiefer Sherwood and Elias Pettersson were awarded the assists…Sherwood gave Vancouver a three-goal lead at 8:41 of the third…DeBrusk and Pettersson had the helpers…Claude Giroux and Tim Stützle each scored late in the third to bring Ottawa within one…DeBrusk had five shots…Sherwood had 10 hits…Myers blocked a team-high five shots…Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves.

2024.25 TEAM RANKS

*Rankings are accurate as of 7:00am PT on December 21, 2024

LAST GAME PLAYED – DEC. 19/24: VAN 1 at VGK 3

Teddy Blueger opened the scoring at 8:15 of the first period…Kiefer Sherwood and Danton Heinen had the assists…Alex Pietrangelo evened the game for Vegas in the second…William Karlsson and Brett Howden scored for Vegas in the third…Blueger and Conor Garland each had four shots…Phillip Di Giuseppe had five hits…Carson Soucy blocked five shots…Kevin Lankinen made 18 saves.

LAST 5 – vs OTTAWA

Nov. 23/24: VAN 4 at OTT 3 Jan. 2/24: VAN 6 vs OTT 3 Nov. 9/23: VAN 5 at OTT 2 Mar. 11/23: VAN 5 vs OTT 2 Nov. 8/22: VAN 6 at OTT 4

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1970.71, the Canucks have faced off against a new expansion franchise on 21 occasions, holding a record of 11-8-1-1 (including a 2-7-1-1 record on the road).

SEASON

HOME/ROAD

OPPONENT

RESULT

SCORE

2024.25

ROAD

Utah Hockey Club

OVERTIME LOSS

3-2

2021.22

ROAD

Seattle Kraken

WIN

4-2

2017.18

HOME

Vegas Golden Knights

LOSS

5-2

2000.01

ROAD

Minnesota Wild

LOSS

4-1

2000.01

ROAD

Columbus Blue Jackets

WIN

6-1

1999.00

ROAD

Atlanta Thrashers

LOSS

6-3

1998.99

ROAD

Nashville Predators

LOSS

5-4

1993.94

ROAD

Florida Panthers

LOSS

2-1

1993.94

HOME

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

WIN

3-2

1992.93

HOME

Tampa Bay Lightning

WIN

7-0

1992.93

HOME

Ottawa Senators

WIN

4-1

1991.92

HOME

San Jose Sharks

WIN

4-3

1979.80

ROAD

Edmonton Oilers

TIE

4-4

1979.80

ROAD

Winnipeg Jets

LOSS

5-3

1979.80

ROAD

Quebec Nordiques

LOSS

3-1

1979.80

HOME

Hartford Whalers

WIN

5-3

1974.75

HOME

Kansas City Scouts

WIN

5-3

1974.75

HOME

Washington Capitals

WIN

4-2

1972.73

HOME

Atlanta Flames

LOSS

2-1

1972.73

HOME

New York Islanders

WIN

7-2

1970.71

HOME

Buffalo Sabres

WIN

7-2

QUINN-TASTIC

Recording two assists on Dec. 18/24 at UTA, Quinn Hughes reached the 70-assist mark in 2024, becoming the fifth defenceman in NHL history to record multiple calendar years with at least 70 assists, joining Paul Coffey, Bobby, Orr, Ray Bourque, and Brian Leetch. With an assist on Dec. 16/24 vs COL, Quinn Hughes now has 28 assists through 30 games this season, tied for the third-most assists through 30 games in a season in franchise history. Recording two assists on Dec. 12/24 vs FLA, Quinn Hughes now has 81 points since the start of 2024, and became the seventh defenceman in NHL history to record consecutive calendar years with at least 80 points. Scoring his seventh goal of the season on Dec. 8/24 vs TBL, Quinn Hughes now has 50 in his career, passing Adrian Aucoin for the 10th most in franchise history. Putting home the 50th goal of his career on Dec. 8/24 vs TBL, Quinn Hughes became both the second fastest defenceman to 50 goals with the franchise and second youngest to 50 goals with the Canucks, behind Rick Lanz in both instances. With two assists on Dec. 6/24 vs CBJ, Quinn Hughes reached the 30-point mark in just his 25th game, the second-fewest number of games to do so in franchise history, trailing only himself (19 games, 2023.24). Chipping in with two assists on Dec. 6/24 vs CBJ, Quinn Hughes joined Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Nathan MacKinnon as the only players with 100 or more assists since the start of the 2023.24 season. Recording a league-leading nine points (1-8-9) in four games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, Quinn Hughes was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week. With three assists on Dec. 1/24 at DET, Quinn Hughes passed Alex Edler for the most assists by a defenceman in franchise history (313). By recording three assists on Dec. 1/24 at DET, Quinn Hughes passed Roman Josi for the second-most three-point games by a defenceman since the start of the 2019.20 season (30). Cale Makar tops the list (33). Opening the scoring just 34 seconds into the game on Nov. 19/24 vs NYR, Quinn Hughes tied Jyrki Lumme and Dan Hamhuis for the fourth-fastest goal by a defenceman to open a game in franchise history.

“KIE-FER SHER-WOOD”

Scoring three goals on Dec. 16/24 vs COL, Kiefer Sherwood recorded his first career hat-trick, and set a new career-high in goals (11) with his third goal of the contest. In recording his first career hat-trick on Dec. 16/24 vs COL, Kiefer Sherwood also became the 13th player in franchise history to record a natural hat-trick and first since Brock Boeser on Dec. 12/23 vs TBL.

PUSH IT TO THE MAX

Scoring his first career NHL goal on Dec. 14 vs BOS, Max Sasson became the second Canuck to score their first NHL goal this season, following Jonathan Lekkerimäki on Nov. 14/24 vs NYI. Recording an assist in his second-career game on Nov. 27/24 at PIT, Max Sasson became the first Canucks player to begin their career with points in at least two straight games since Elias Pettersson. Making his NHL debut on Nov. 23/24 at OTT, Max Sasson became the 46th player in franchise history to record a point in his NHL debut.

JAKE ‘N BAKE

Thanks to a goal on Dec. 12/24 vs FLA, Jake DeBrusk now has 14 goals since November 2, tied for the fourth-most in the NHL. With a goal on Dec. 3/24 at MIN, Jake DeBrusk now has 11 road goals this season, tied with four other players for the third-most in the NHL. Recording his second career hat-trick on Dec. 1/24 at DET, Jake DeBrusk became the eighth player in Canucks history to finish a regular-season hat-trick with an overtime goal. Returning to Boston on Nov. 26/24 for the first time since signing with Vancouver on July 1, Jake DeBrusk continued his strong play on the road, scoring in his fifth-consecutive road contest, helping the Canucks to improve to 5-0-0 on the road when he scores (now 6-0-0 after scoring on Nov. 29/24 at BUF).

BOES-T IN CLASS

Scoring a goal in his 500th career game on Dec. 12/24 vs FLA, Brock Boeser became the 14th player in Canucks history to score a goal in his 500th career game. Recording a goal and an assist on Dec. 6/24 vs CBJ, Brock Boeser reached the 400-point mark in his career, becoming the 15th player in Canucks history to record at least 400 points with the franchise. He also became the 10th player from the 2015 draft class to hit the milestone.

KEVIN BLANKINEN

Recording a shutout on Dec. 12/24 vs FLA, Kevin Lankinen tied Connor Hellebuyck and Sam Montembeault for the most among goaltenders in 2024.25 and set a new career-high for most shutouts in a season. Defeating Detroit in overtime on Dec. 1/24, Kevin Lankinen tied Evgeni Nabokov (2007.08) and Carey Price (2014.15) for the third-longest road winning streak in NHL history (10 games). With his victory on Dec. 1/24 at DET, Kevin Lankinen is now 10-0-0 on the road this season, passing Glenn Hall (1965.66) and Cam Talbot (2023.24) for the most road wins to start a season in NHL history. Stopping all 32 shots he faced on Nov. 26/24 at BOS, Kevin Lankinen became the second Canucks goaltender to post a shutout against the Bruins, joining Corey Hirsch. Recording his fifth-career shutout on Nov. 26/24 at BOS, Kevin Lankinen is now 8-0-0 on the road to start the 2024.25 season, the fifth goaltender in NHL history to start a season with such record.

5 CANUCKS, 4 NATIONS

As announced on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Kevin Lankinen will join Quinn Hughes and Rick Tocchet in representing their countries at the 4 Nations Face-Off, taking place from February 12-20 in Montreal, QC and Boston, MA.

PETTERSSZN

Recording his seventh multi-point game of the season on Dec. 3/24 at MIN, Elias Pettersson now has 115 such games in his career, passing Todd Bertuzzi and entering the Top 10 most multi-point games in franchise history. Assisting on two goals on Nov. 23/24 at OTT, Elias Pettersson now has 22 points (10-12-22) in 14 career games against Ottawa (1.57 P/GP), the fourth-highest points-per-game rate amongst active players (min. 5 GP). Recording two assists on Nov. 23/24 vat OTT, Elias Pettersson passed Dennis Kearns for the 10th-most multi-assist games in franchise history (54).

SHOOTER SUTER

With his 66th career goal on Dec. 1/24 at DET, Pius Suter tied Sven Baertschi for the seventh-most goals by a Swiss-born player in NHL history. Scoring his second goal of the game with just 26 seconds remaining in regulation on Nov. 2/24 at SJS, Pius Suter recorded the sixth-latest game-winning goal on the road in Canucks franchise history. With two goals on Nov. 2/24 at SJS, Pius Suter now has seven goals in seven-career games against the Sharks, including four in three games as a member of the Canucks.

ROAD WARRIORS

Emerging victorious on Nov. 26/24 at BOS, the Vancouver Canucks extended their road win streak to eight games, tied for the second-longest run in franchise history. Defeating Ottawa by a score of 4-3 on Nov. 23/24, the Canucks have begun the 2024.25 season 7-1-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Phillip Di Giuseppe recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 17 Linus Karlsson recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 17 Artūrs Šilovs reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 17 Mark Friedman reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 17 Aatu Räty reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 15 Artūrs Šilovs recalled from Abbotsford on emergency basis, Dec. 14. Max Sasson recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 14 Aatu Räty recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 14 Mark Friedman recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 14 Max Sasson reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 13 Aatu Räty reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 13 Mark Friedman reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 13 T. Miller placed on the Active Roster, Dec. 12 Derek Forbort activated from Injured Reserve, Dec. 12 Mark Friedman recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 12 Mark Friedman reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 11 Max Sasson recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 10 Max Sasson reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 9 Artūrs Šilovs reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 8 Thatcher Demko activated from season-opening injured non-roster, Dec. 6 Cole McWard reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 6 Jonathan Lekkerimäki reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 6

THE LAST TIME…

The Canucks won when leading after 1P: Dec. 16/24 vs COL The Canucks lost when leading after 1P: Dec. 19/24 at VGK The Canucks lost in OT/SO when leading after 1P: Dec. 3/24 at MIN The Canucks won when leading after 2P: Dec. 16/24 vs COL The Canucks lost when leading after 2P: Feb. 19/24 at MIN The Canucks lost in OT/SO when leading after 2P: Dec. 18/24 at UTA The Canucks won when trailing after 1P: Dec. 6/24 vs CBJ The Canucks lost when trailing after 1P: Dec. 14/24 vs BOS The Canucks lost in OT/SO when trailing after 1P: Dec. 10/24 vs STL The Canucks won when trailing after 2P: Feb. 24/24 vs BOS The Canucks lost when trailing after 2P: Dec. 14/24 vs BOS The Canucks lost in OT/SO when trailing after 2P: Dec. 10/24 vs STL The Canucks won when tied after 1P: Nov. 26/24 at BOS The Canucks lost when tied after 1P: Nov. 19/24 vs NYR The Canucks lost in OT/SO when tied after 1P: Dec. 18/24 at UTA The Canucks won when tied after 2P: Dec. 6/24 vs CBJ The Canucks lost when tied after 2P: Dec. 19/24 at VGK The Canucks lost in OT/SO when tied after 2P: Dec. 21/23 at DAL

2024.25 SEASON HIGHS AND LOWS

Most Goals Scored, Game: 6, Oct. 22/24 at CHI Most Goals Scored, Period: 4, 3x, Latest Oct. 26/24 vs PIT, 2nd period Most Goals Allowed, Game: 7, Nov. 9/24 vs EDM Most Goals Allowed, Period: 4, 2x, Latest Nov. 27/24 at PIT, 1st period Fewest Goals Scored, Game: 0, Oct. 30/24 vs NJD Fewest Goals Allowed, Game: 0, 3x, Latest Dec. 12/24 vs FLA Most PPG Scored, Game: 2, 3x, Latest Dec. 1/24 at DET Most PPG Allowed, Game: 2, 3x, Latest Dec. 8/24 vs TBL Most SHG Scored, Game: 1, Dec. 16/24 vs COL Most SHG Allowed, Game: 1, 3x, Latest Dec. 10/24 vs STL Most Shots, Game: 37, Nov. 5/24 at ANA Most Shots, Period: 20, Nov. 14/24 vs NYI, 3rd period Most Shots, OT: 3, 3x, Latest Dec. 18/24 at UTA Fewest Shots, Game: 15, Nov. 26/24 at BOS Fewest Shots, Period: 2, 2x, Latest Dec. 19/24 at VGK, 2nd period Fewest Shots, OT: 0, 2x, Latest Oct. 28/24 vs CAR Most Shots Allowed, Game: 34, 2x, Latest Nov. 29/24 at BUF Most Shots Allowed, Period: 18, 2x, Latest Dec. 8/24 vs TBL, 2nd period Most Shots Allowed, OT: 3, 2x, Latest Dec. 18/24 at UTA Fewest Shots Allowed, Game: 21, Dec. 19/24 at VGK Fewest Shots Allowed, Period: 2, Nov. 17/24 vs NSH, 3rd period Fewest Shots Allowed, OT: 0, Oct. 17/24 at FLA Most Hits, Game: 43, Oct. 30/24 vs NJD Fewest Hits, Game: 13, Oct. 9/24 vs CGY Most Blocked Shots, Game: 26, Nov. 26/24 at BOS Fewest Blocked Shots, Game: 7, Nov. 5/24 at ANA Largest Margin of Victory: 4 goals, 2x, Latest Dec. 12/24 vs FLA Largest Margin of Defeat: 6 goals, Oct. 30/24 vs NJD Longest Win Streak: 4 games, Oct. 17-26/24 Longest Point Streak: 5 games, Oct. 17-28/24 (4-0-1) Longest Winless Streak: 3 games. Oct. 9-15/24 (0-1-2) Longest Pointless Streak: 2 games, Nov. 17-19/24

VANCOUVER 2024.25 RECORD WHEN…

Score 4+ Goals: 10-1-1 Score 3 Goals or Less: 6-9-5 Allow 4+ Goals: 1-9-3 Allow 3 Goals or Less: 15-1-3 Scoring First: 7-4-5 Allowing First Goal: 9-6-1 On 0 Days Rest: 0-3-0 On 1 Day Rest: 8-6-5 On 2 Days Rest: 6-0-0 On 3+ Days Rest: 2-1-1 Score a PPG: 10-3-4 Give up a PPG: 4-7-4 25 or More Shots on Goal: 10-5-5 Less than 25 shots: 6-5-1

THREE STARS – DECEMBER

Lankinen – 15 pts Hughes – 10 pts Pettersson – 5 pts Demko – 5 pts Miller – 5 pts DeBrusk – 5 pts Boeser – 5 pts Garland – 5 pts Sasson – 5 pts Sherwood – 5 pts

NOVEMBER WINNER – DeBrusk (20 pts)

OCTOBER WINNER – Lankinen (25 pts)

*5 points are awarded for each Three Stars Selection