By AakashSports_
The Vancouver Canucks are 1–2–0 to start the 2025–26 NHL season, and while that record doesn’t sound alarming, it feels worse when the latest loss comes on home ice. Monday night’s 5–2 defeat to the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena was supposed to be a bounce-back performance, a night to reset after a tough road loss. Instead, it exposed exactly where this team still needs to grow.
The crowd came ready. The atmosphere early on carried that familiar October optimism, the belief that a new system under Adam Foote would start to click. But by the third period, it was quiet. The Blues didn’t silence Vancouver with flash, they did it with control.
This wasn’t a disaster, but it was a reminder. Structure takes time. Identity takes work. And effort alone won’t win games when that structure breaks down.
The Game: Blues Take the Air Out of the Building
The Blues played like the more composed, connected team from the opening draw. They were patient in transition, crisp through the middle, and opportunistic in front of the net.
Jimmy Snuggerud opened the scoring midway through the first period, finishing a pass from Pius Suter and Mathieu Joseph after a blown rotation left him unchecked between the dots. The Canucks’ zone coverage was half a beat slow, and it cost them.
In the second period, Brayden Schenn doubled the St. Louis lead, slipping into open ice after another defensive lapse near the crease. The Canucks finally responded when Kiefer Sherwood scored off a rebound from Aatu Räty and Arshdeep Bains. That line was one of Vancouver’s few consistent sources of energy.
But the pushback didn’t last. Snuggerud struck again on the power play late in the frame, restoring a two-goal cushion and pulling the energy right out of the rink. Kiefer Sherwood scored, a shorthanded effort built purely on hustle, gave fans a brief spark,
Nick Bjugstad made it 4–2 late in the second and in the third, Jake Neighbours’ empty-netter ended any hope of a rally.
Vancouver was outshot 35–30, and outplayed in key moments. Kevin Lankinen made several strong saves, but he was left to handle too many clean looks. The defensive structure cracked just often enough to make a difference.
Foote’s Blueprint: Building From the Back, Not the Highlights
Adam Foote’s message since camp has been consistent. He wants structure, patience, and discipline to define this team. The goal isn’t to outscore mistakes, it’s to eliminate them.
That kind of change is hard. It demands trust and repetition. Forwards are being asked to track deeper, defensemen to stay more patient, and everyone to play connected rather than reactive.
You can see the intention. There are moments when the Canucks close gaps better and move the puck with purpose. But those moments don’t last long enough. One slow read or broken rotation, and the rhythm collapses.
Right now, they’re thinking their way through games instead of feeling their way through them. And in a home game where the energy should’ve carried them, the hesitation was obvious.
Why the Transition Feels Uneven
1. Repetition Builds Rhythm
Foote’s system works when players stop thinking and start trusting. That trust comes from live reps, and the Canucks are still learning how to hold their structure when the game speeds up.
2. Chemistry Is Still Forming
Every change in defensive approach affects timing and spacing. Some lines are adjusting faster than others, but too often passes are off by a stride or coverage is late by a second.
3. Confidence Comes From Clarity
Hockey slows down when structure becomes second nature. Until then, players hesitate, and that half-second of uncertainty creates openings. The Canucks are stuck in that in-between.
4. Foote’s Standard Is High
Foote doesn’t want shortcuts. He expects his group to defend as a five-man unit, take pride in the details, and stop leaning on goaltenders to bail them out. The message is clear, but consistency is not.
The Reality Behind the Record
The Canucks’ 1–2 start doesn’t tell the whole story, but the story isn’t glowing either. The penalty kill has been one of the few bright spots, allowing just one goal through three games. The lanes are tighter, the sticks are active, and that’s a small but real sign of structure taking hold.
The effort level, though, has been average. Not awful, not inspiring. There are shifts where the team looks engaged, forechecking with pace, tracking back hard, and others where they drift. That inconsistency has been costly.
You can’t expect Thatcher Demko or Kevin Lankinen to win you every night. They’ve both played well enough to give the team a chance, but the group in front of them hasn’t met that standard. The goalies are holding up their end. The rest of the roster has to do the same.
Sherwood has been one of the few who plays like every shift matters. His energy has set an example. Räty and Bains have also looked calm, structured, and reliable in their minutes — players who are clearly buying in to Foote’s expectations.
But the overall urgency isn’t where it needs to be, especially on home ice. The fans showed up ready. The team didn’t give them enough reason to stay loud.
What Needs to Change
If the Canucks want to turn this early frustration into progress, the next few games have to show signs of connection. Watch for:
- Zone Exits: Clean passes under pressure instead of panic clears.
- Neutral Zone Play: Staying compact, forcing dump-ins, not giving up controlled entries.
- Power Play Adjustment: The penalty kill has stabilized, but the power play has been flat. That needs to even out.
- Staying Composed at Home: When the building gets tense, do they trust the system or abandon it?
These are the signs that reveal whether the system is taking hold.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t a crisis. But it’s not a shrug-it-off kind of start either. Foote was brought in to change how this team plays, not just how it looks. And that means accountability.
If the Canucks want to become a team that controls games rather than reacts to them, they have to embrace the grind of these early lessons. Systems take time, but intensity doesn’t.
Playing at home should mean energy, purpose, and pushback. Monday didn’t have enough of any of it.
Final Word
The 5–2 loss to St. Louis won’t define the season, but it defines where the Canucks are right now — somewhere between progress and frustration.
Foote’s structure is slowly taking shape, but effort and focus are lagging behind. The goaltenders have done their part. The rest of the roster has to catch up.
This is what growing pains look like. It’s not about panic, it’s about urgency.
The Vancouver Canucks are 1–2–0 to start the 2025–26 NHL season, and while that record doesn’t sound alarming, it feels worse when the latest loss comes on home ice. Monday night’s 5–2 defeat to the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena was supposed to be a bounce-back performance, a night to reset after a tough road loss. Instead, it exposed exactly where this team still needs to grow.
The crowd came ready. The atmosphere early on carried that familiar October optimism, the belief that a new system under Adam Foote would start to click. But by the third period, it was quiet. The Blues didn’t silence Vancouver with flash, they did it with control.
This wasn’t a disaster, but it was a reminder. Structure takes time. Identity takes work. And effort alone won’t win games when that structure breaks down.
