Canucks Strong Effort Not Enough In 4-2 Loss To The Stars

Despite a strong effort, the Vancouver Canucks fell 4-2 to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson found the back of the net while Kevin Lankinen stopped 20 of the 24 shots. With the loss, Vancouver drops to 9-11-2 on the season and 3-6-1 at home.

Thursday night’s loss was arguably one of the Canucks best performances of the year. They outshot the Stars 36-24 while going two for two on the penalty kill. Unfortunately, mistakes cost Vancouver as bad pinches and missed assignments led to four Dallas goals.

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“We’re competing,” said Head Coach Adam Foote post-game. “I mean, we competed. We didn’t quit. It seems like we’ve been doing that all year. As far as the resiliency, you know,  it’s a game of mistakes, right? Dallas had a couple as well, and it’s going to happen. We were right there tonight. It was a good game.”

One player who had a strong night for the Canucks was Pettersson, who extended his point streak to five games. On top of his goal, Pettersson was tied for the team lead with six shots while winning 16 of his 21 faceoffs. Post-game, Pettersson was frustrated by the result despite the team’s strong effort.

“Not good enough if we lost,” said Pettersson. Definitely, it’s a good team over there. Definitely did enough to win. Yeah, wasn’t enough today.”

As for a storyline from this game, that would be the power play. While Vancouver did score with the man advantage, they went one for five and could not capitalize on a five-on-three man advantage. Post-game, Pettersson was asked about the five-on-three and said, “We had a minute-twenty. Have to get a goal there. Games like this, tight and special teams can win us the game. I know we got one on the power play, but when we get a long five-on-three, we need to get a goal.”

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The frustrating part of this game was the Canucks inability to get a goal during the second period. While Vancouver was the better team for most of the night, they dominated the second period, outshooting the Stars 15-6. In the end, luck was not on their side as Jake Oettinger was able to shut the door for the final 40 minutes.

After a game like the one on Thursday, the question moving forward is, can the Canucks replicate this performance? Yes, they made some costly mistakes, but overall, Vancouver played a strong game that should have resulted in a win. Unfortunately, games like this happen, as the Canucks leave Thursday night without collecting a crucial two points in the standings.

Nov 20, 2025; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser (6) watches as Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger (29) makes a save on forward Jake DeBrusk (74) in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Stats and Facts:

– Elias Pettersson scores his 200th goal with the Canucks (regular season + playoffs)

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– Jake DeBrusk extends his point streak to three games

– Linus Karlsson scores his second goal in the last three games

– Vancouver records over 35 shots for the third time this season

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

00:55- DAL: Mavrik Bourque (3) from Justin Hryckowian
3:06- VAN: Linus Karlsson (3)
7:44- DAL: Jason Robertson (12)
14:25- VAN: Elias Pettersson (7) from Jake DeBrusk and Kiefer Sherwood

2nd Period:

No Scoring

3rd Period:

10:47- DAL: Colin Blackwell (2) Radek Faksa from Oskar Bäck
18:29- DAL: Mikko Rantanen (10) from Jamie Benn

Up Next:

The Canucks will get a few days off before finishing up their two-game homestand against the Calgary Flames. These two teams met earlier this season, with Vancouver picking up a 5-1 home win. Game time on Sunday is scheduled for 6:00 pm PT.

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