LOS ANGELES — The Vancouver Canucks ended their post-4 Nations Face-off skid Wednesday night, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime in a slow-motion affair that suddenly became a third-period thriller.
The win was punctuated by Quinn Hughes’ return to the lineup. Hughes’ lead-in was confusing — the Canucks captain took the ice for the warmup skate but didn’t take part in line rushes and was listed as a scratch on the initial version of the Canucks’ lineup card, according to the official NHL.com rosters page.
Then, suddenly, Hughes was back and played in his first game since January 31st. His return, of course, was welcome. Sorely needed, in fact. A game changer for a Canucks team that’s struggled massively to generate offensive pressure and is going to need Hughes to be at his best if it’s going to fend off the Calgary Flames and the Utah Hockey Club and hang onto a playoff spot.
Though the win wasn’t a work of art by any means, it was 2 points that the Canucks needed, as the club looks to salvage this road trip following back-to-back losses this weekend in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. Some underlying issues remain. It’s not as if the Canucks stacked up quality looks against a sturdy Kings defensive outfit Wednesday, and they blew a 2-0 lead in the third period, but the Canucks need points and secured 2.
GAME OVER GARLAND. pic.twitter.com/gWxgABlRxT
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 27, 2025
Here are three takeaways on a night in which Vancouver got back on track in the thirty-mile zone.
Quinn Hughes’ return
When the Canucks opted to dress Hughes on Wednesday night at the last moment, the club’s thinking was predicated on the idea that playing 11 forwards and seven defenders would give them flexibility and insurance. If Hughes’ reported oblique issue flared up, and he couldn’t finish the game, then the club would have other options on the blue line. If the Canucks wanted to carefully manage Hughes’ minutes, which was the thinking going into Wednesday night, then presumably they’d have the flexibility to do so.
Now, of course, because Hughes looked exceptional and helped drive play. Because he dominated in transition, as usual, and fundamentally altered the gravity of the contest every time he was on the ice, Hughes logged top pair minutes at five-on-five.
It wasn’t a signature Hughes performance, but his impact was felt enormously and the complexion of this team looked entirely different.
One wonders given that Hughes was a true game-time decision Wednesday, and the decision on whether to dress him appeared to change at the very last minute, if his presence in the Los Angeles game was a mark of relative desperation from a reeling Canucks side. Presumably, a team with loftier ambitions this season, and in fairness, a safer perch in the playoff race, might’ve played this differently on the first leg of back-to-back games.
The Canucks need wins, however, and Hughes can help deliver them. That was readily apparent throughout Wednesday’s game.
Rick Tocchet’s new lines pay dividends
The Canucks significantly reimagined their top-nine forward group this week, and in need of a spark, Tocchet found something that ignited.
Nils Höglander, getting his first opportunity to play top-six minutes since mid-November, opened the scoring with a gorgeous rush finish. It was the sort of goal he scored regularly at five-on-five last season, unscreened with a perfect wrist shot, and the sort of play the Canucks need more.
Their second goal, meanwhile, was scored off a really slick sequence in which Filip Chytil and Conor Garland combined on the power play to pad Vancouver’s lead. While that goal was scored with the man advantage, throughout the evening, that new-look line with Dakota Joshua flashed chemistry and moved the puck creatively in the offensive zone. It was a level of dynamism that we’ve rarely seen from a Canucks forward line over the past six weeks.
Finally, while the new-look third line with Pius Suter, Drew O’Connor and Brock Boeser didn’t find a way to score, it was Vancouver’s best defensive line by far and won its matchups decisively in the opening 40 minutes in particular at five-on-five. Then, the game flipped in the third …
The gift from Jim Hiller
On Monday night, the Kings were trailing the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 after 40 minutes of hockey. When the third period began, the Kings coach put together a trio of Kevin Fiala, Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe and immediately took over the game. That line cooked, playing electrifying attacking hockey, which powered the Kings to a 5-2 win.
Surely the Canucks would have to be aware of that line’s pop and potential. Right?
While Canucks fans will be frustrated by Vancouver parking the bus and coughing up a 2-0 lead in the third period Wednesday, the truth is, the Kings did Vancouver a tremendous favour by not sticking with what worked so well for them Monday. It was only in the third period, when the Kings returned to their “break in case of emergency line,” that Los Angeles began to threaten Vancouver with any consistency.
In fact, Los Angeles took over the game, generating scoring chances in bulk — both off the rush and off the cycle — once that line was put together. It was like a switch flipped, and the difference was stark as the Kings leveled the score.
Sometimes it’s about what you do, but sometimes it’s about what your opponent does, too. The Canucks faced an opponent that was intent on making a mistake, and it was a key factor that enabled the Canucks to earn 2 points.
Tocchet’s adjustments worked, and the Kings rolled with a suboptimal lineup until it was almost too late. And that was really the story in Los Angeles.
(Photo of Quinn Hughes: Jason Parkhurst / Imagn Images)
