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Canucks Pick Up First Home Win Of The 2026-27 Season With 4-1 Win Over The Flames
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- Canucks Pick Up First Home Win Of The 2026-27 Season With 4-1 Win Over The Flames
The Vancouver Canucks have their first home win of the 2026-27 campaign. Thanks to a four-goal third-period outburst, Vancouver defeated the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. Liam Öhgren, defenceman Elias Pettersson, Drew O'Connor and Aatu Räty found the back of the net, while Leevi Meriläinen picked up his first win as a member of the Canucks.
Fans in Vancouver were treated to yet another chaotic game as the Canucks and Flames put on a show at Rogers Arena. Both teams had chances galore, but struggled to hit the net all night. In the end, Vancouver and Calgary combined for 50 shots, and another 76 were blocked or missed the net.
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Making his first start for the Canucks was goaltender Meriläinen, who stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced. While there was some chaos in the crease, the 24-year-old eventually settled down and was a brick wall for Vancouver. Post-game, Meriläinen was asked about one of his biggest saves of the night, when he denied Zayne Parekh on a 3-on-1.
"Yeah, first I thought it was like a two-on-one or something like that," said Meriläinen. "But then, when he passed it over, I saw the other guys coming in too. So, when he received that puck, I kind of saw that he's not going to shoot it. He's going to pass it again, and yeah, that's about it."
Another storyline was the Canucks' third-period performance. After scoring just 70 times in the third period last season, Vancouver has already found the back of the net 11 times in the third this year through three games. When asked about his team's increased third-period scoring, Manny Malhotra joked that he hopes it can be spread out a bit more in the future.
"Well, if I knew that, I'd make them do it in the first 40," said Malhotra. "But when you look at the way we're scoring, we've scored goals in transition. We've capitalized on opportunities. But a lot of it's just getting around the net. Again, the simple mindset. Deliver pucks and get around the net. If you look at every heat map in the league of every team, goals are going to be scored around the net. So it's a willingness to get there and the ability to deliver pucks to give ourselves some opportunities."
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As for maybe the biggest surprise, center Elias Pettersson was once again the hit king of the night. EP40 finished the night with eight hits, which included a massive one late in the game on Parekh. Post-game, Malhotra was asked about Pettersson's physical play and what it means to the group.
"Well, it's great for Petey," said Malhotra. "He's really taken on that mentality of just being harder to play against. Points aside this year, he's done a much better job of just being heavier on pucks, coming up with puck battles and trying to be as physical as he can. And that was a great example of it. That being said, I think the more pressing issue is the fact that he's leading our team in hits. We need more from the rest of our group in terms of that level of physicality. We've discussed it with our group. They're aware of who needs to be doing it more. But when one of your skilled players is willing to get physical and willing to throw those kinds of hits, it's a great way of leading by example."
If anything, these first three games have been arguably more exciting than the entire 2025-26 campaign. Saturday's win was a blend of physicality, excitement and resiliency as the crowd at Rogers Arena was electric all night. If the Canucks keep putting forth efforts like Saturday's, fans will have plenty to cheer about throughout the year.
Oct 3, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (40) checks Calgary Flames defenseman Jacob Middleton (55) in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Stats and Facts:
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Filip Hronek sets a new career high with eight blocked shots
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Center Elias Pettersson records his second-straight eight hit game
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Tom Willander records his third career multi-point game
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Leevi Meriläinen becomes the 59th goaltender in franchise history to record a regular season game
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Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
14:51- CGY: Matt Coronato (1) from Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee (PPG)
2nd Period:
No Scoring
3rd Period:
1:28- VAN: Liam Öhgren (1) from Paul Cotter and Tom Willander
9:04- VAN: Elias Pettersson (1) from Liam Öhgren and Tom Willander16:33- VAN: Drew O'Connor (1) from Linus Karlsson
17:15- VAN: Aatu Räty (1) from Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson (ENG)
Up Next:
Sunday, October 4, vs Vegas Golden Knights
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