Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight&#8217;s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
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First Period recap:
The first twenty minutes of the JT Miller-less era of Canuck hockey played out almost identically to the JT Miller-less era of Canuck hockey that preceded his arrival. Yep, it was certainly a first period of hockey!
Credit to the Canucks, who held the fifth-best team in the West to a grand total of 2 shots through their first nine minutes of hockey without their second-leading scorer and oft-mentioned heart &amp; soul leader.
Unfortunately, the Dallas Stars didn&#8217;t need a whole lot of volume to break the stalemate.
On their third shot of the game, Oscar Bäck scored his third of the season off a slick pass by Colin Blackwell from below the Canucks&#8217; goal line. Blackwell began the play by bumping Filip Hronek off the puck. While Carson Soucy and Brock Boeser stood watching from the left circle, Blackwell went up the guts of the ice to Bäck for the quick tip over Demko&#8217;s shoulder.
1-0 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Oskar Back opens the scoring for Dallas.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/cgmDIv6mGb">pic.twitter.com/cgmDIv6mGb</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885499955777069105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Nils Höglander continued his strong run of play of late by drawing a holding penalty against Matt Dumba to give Vancouver the game&#8217;s first power play.
To no one&#8217;s surprise, the Miller-less power play unit looked like a power play missing one of its staples.
Following the Canucks&#8217; failed power play, the Stars began to dominate the overall run of possession and control of scoring chances.
Thatcher Demko, starting his second straight game, was sharp against the Stars as they exerted their will against the Canucks. As the Canucks sagged through the final ten minutes, Demko picked up the slack, making several marvellous saves.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thatcher Demko makes a great pad save moving from right to left!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/DGyquQhKet">pic.twitter.com/DGyquQhKet</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885504225842708702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Canucks looked fortunate to be leaving the first period only down by a goal because the Stars were pressing hard after the Canucks&#8217; flop of a power play.
Second Period recap:
The start of the second period appeared more like a continuation of the first. The Stars executed d-zone breakouts and odd-man entries for shot attempts at will, while the Canucks struggled to string together simple tape-to-tape passes with time and space. It was ugly.
The Canucks broke up their run of soft d-zone play with a goal from Conor Garland five minutes into the period, set up by none other than Höglander!
1-1 Tie.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Nils Hoglander sets up Conor Garland at the side of the net and he buries it! We&#8217;re all tied up!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/7NeqHaliNK">pic.twitter.com/7NeqHaliNK</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885510671024189723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kudos to Hronek, who made up for his soft giveaway on the Bäck goal by blocking the shot that rebounded to Höglander, sparking the odd-man rush and game-tying goal sequence.
Höglander then drew his second minor penalty of the game, sending Kyle Capbianco to the box for holding.
The Canucks&#8217; first power play unit looked significantly better on this try, though their struggle to create openings without Miller was evident. Brock Boeser got a nice one-timer opportunity off an odd bounce out of the slot. Otherwise, the big positive from the second power play opportunity was the puck control and passing while under pressure.
Danton Heinen gave the Canucks their third straight power play opportunity of the game, drawing a trip against Capobianco while chasing down a loose puck in the neutral zone off of a d-zone clearance.
The third power play opportunity built off the work started in the second attempt. The top of the umbrella crisply moved the puck around the ice. Garland and Jake Debrusk were hounding loose pucks in the slot, and Boeser patrolled the left circle like a prime Ovechkin.
The second power play unit got a look this time, with Höglander tipping a point shot narrowly over the glove of Jake Oettinger and above the net.
In the final five minutes of the period, the refs called a blatantly obvious tripping minor against Derek Forbort for executing one of the worst hip check attempts in recent memory.
2-1 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jason Robertson scores on the power play. It&#8217;s 2-1 Stars
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/lPIR80hZNn">pic.twitter.com/lPIR80hZNn</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885516461302833652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Less than a minute into their first penalty kill, Heinen had his stick break, giving the Stars an uncontestable tic-tac-toe play for the tiebreaker. Jason Robertson was gifted a free shooting lane after Heinen dropped coverage in the slot to chase Wyatt Johnston at the left circle sans stick. It wasn&#8217;t the best decision to abandon coverage mid-tic-to-tac. But hey, pobody&#8217;s nerfect!
The Canucks were content to ride out the final handful of minutes playing keep away.
Third Period recap:
Early in the third period, Esa Lindell brilliantly defended a Canucks three-on-two rush, steering aside a cross-ice pass from Debrusk, sending Jason Robertson out of the zone on a two-on-one rush.
3-1 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Roope Hintz gives the Stars a two goal lead.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/O5qD9PhAW0">pic.twitter.com/O5qD9PhAW0</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885524103236641149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
The most notable piece from the Stars&#8217; 3-1 goal sequence was Noah Juulsen&#8217;s baffling decision to jump five feet past the blue line before curling painstakingly slow on the retreat through the neutral zone. Roope Hintz had zero issues cutting toward the guts of the ice for the goal, a common theme in Friday&#8217;s action.
With 14 minutes left, Quinn Hughes disappeared from the regular rotation and did not return to the bench until after a string of power play opportunities.
First, near the midway point of the third, Brendan Smith drew an interference penalty against Tyler Myers, giving Dallas their second power play opportunity of the game.
Juulsen compensated for the rough path taken on the 3-1 goal sequence by executing a couple of timely rink-wide clearances that helped the Canucks hold the Stars lead at two.
Shortly after Myers left the bench, Elias Pettersson drew a high-sticking minor against Lian Bichsel to give Vancouver their fourth power play of the night. The best scoring chance was generated by Roope Hintz for Dallas. With the game back at 5-on-5, the Canucks went to work on doubling their third-period shot total from one to two.
Quinn Hughes returned to the ice ahead of the fourth power play opportunity but looked slightly off.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here is Quinn Hughes next shift after returning from the locker room.
Looks like he is playing through something.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/QRjk4C4jQd">pic.twitter.com/QRjk4C4jQd</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885529150993424589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Oh, and that wasn&#8217;t a typo. The Canucks had a single shot on Jake Oettinger through 13 minutes of play in the third.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> second shot of the third period wasn&#8217;t until 14 minutes in. <a href="https://t.co/4B5vzGvgzt">pic.twitter.com/4B5vzGvgzt</a>
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) <a href="https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1885529893829828925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Phil Di Giuseppe obliged with the club&#8217;s second shot of the period, then the rest of the Canucks spent the remainder of the game feeding passes to the point for fruitless point shots.
Hronek drew a slashing minor against Brendan Smith, giving them a fifth power play opportunity. Rick Tocchet pulled Demko for the extra attacker and a hail-mary 6-on-4 push to get within a goal.
However, after losing the faceoff, Hintz threw a high-flip cross-ice into the empty net to give Dallas a commanding three-goal lead with three minutes left.
4-1 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
4-1 Stars.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/a6dWXshOCg">pic.twitter.com/a6dWXshOCg</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885530099518497011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Canucks tried to make it semi-interesting, with Debrusk scoring on the still-existing power play to cut the Stars&#8217; lead to two.
4-2 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Jake DeBrusk scores his 18th goal of the season.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/1T7DMZQwhk">pic.twitter.com/1T7DMZQwhk</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885530865671037201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
But Robertson iced it with the Stars&#8217; second empty netter in as many minutes, ending any hope of a classic Canucks comeback.
Final: 5-3 Stars.
Bummer.
Final takeaways:
-Hughes looked good until he didn&#8217;t. I&#8217;m unsure what happened in the third that took him out of the rotation. I&#8217;m even more unsure why the club kept throwing him on the ice for a futile third-period push, considering they had only two shots on goal after 14 minutes. I don&#8217;t think Hughes will be at the Four Nations if this is as bad as it appears.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This doesn&#8217;t look good&#8230;.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/XpIlutcGZj">pic.twitter.com/XpIlutcGZj</a>
— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885531289585148068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
-I liked Nils Höglander&#8217;s game a lot tonight. It&#8217;s been a long time coming, but Höglander finding his groove could be massive to the club&#8217;s playoff aspirations now that they are absent a top-line forward.
-Demko with another rough stat line, but I find it hard to fault him for the result. When it mattered the most, the Canucks could not defend the guts of the ice to save their lives. The Stars were held to just 16 shots on Demko, and over half were dangerous looks off the rush or looks generated by the club&#8217;s soft play in board battles around the perimeter. The effort, once again, wasn&#8217;t good enough.
-The Canucks whirlwind win streak ends at three games. They&#8217;ve yet to match their season-high four-game win streak set back in October during the first ten games of the season. Yikes!
<div class="mb-5">What&#8217;s your instant reaction to tonight&#8217;s game? Let us know in the comments section below!</div>
<div>
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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight's Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

First Period recap:

The first twenty minutes of the JT Miller-less era of Canuck hockey played out almost identically to the JT Miller-less era of Canuck hockey that preceded his arrival. Yep, it was certainly a first period of hockey!

Credit to the Canucks, who held the fifth-best team in the West to a grand total of 2 shots through their first nine minutes of hockey without their second-leading scorer and oft-mentioned heart &amp; soul leader.

Unfortunately, the Dallas Stars didn't need a whole lot of volume to break the stalemate.

On their third shot of the game, Oscar Bäck scored his third of the season off a slick pass by Colin Blackwell from below the Canucks' goal line. Blackwell began the play by bumping Filip Hronek off the puck. While Carson Soucy and Brock Boeser stood watching from the left circle, Blackwell went up the guts of the ice to Bäck for the quick tip over Demko's shoulder.

1-0 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Oskar Back opens the scoring for Dallas.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/cgmDIv6mGb">pic.twitter.com/cgmDIv6mGb</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885499955777069105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Nils Höglander continued his strong run of play of late by drawing a holding penalty against Matt Dumba to give Vancouver the game's first power play.

To no one's surprise, the Miller-less power play unit looked like a power play missing one of its staples.

Following the Canucks' failed power play, the Stars began to dominate the overall run of possession and control of scoring chances.

Thatcher Demko, starting his second straight game, was sharp against the Stars as they exerted their will against the Canucks. As the Canucks sagged through the final ten minutes, Demko picked up the slack, making several marvellous saves.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thatcher Demko makes a great pad save moving from right to left!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/DGyquQhKet">pic.twitter.com/DGyquQhKet</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885504225842708702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Canucks looked fortunate to be leaving the first period only down by a goal because the Stars were pressing hard after the Canucks' flop of a power play.

Second Period recap:

The start of the second period appeared more like a continuation of the first. The Stars executed d-zone breakouts and odd-man entries for shot attempts at will, while the Canucks struggled to string together simple tape-to-tape passes with time and space. It was ugly.

The Canucks broke up their run of soft d-zone play with a goal from Conor Garland five minutes into the period, set up by none other than Höglander!

1-1 Tie.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Nils Hoglander sets up Conor Garland at the side of the net and he buries it! We're all tied up!

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/7NeqHaliNK">pic.twitter.com/7NeqHaliNK</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885510671024189723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kudos to Hronek, who made up for his soft giveaway on the Bäck goal by blocking the shot that rebounded to Höglander, sparking the odd-man rush and game-tying goal sequence.

Höglander then drew his second minor penalty of the game, sending Kyle Capbianco to the box for holding.

The Canucks' first power play unit looked significantly better on this try, though their struggle to create openings without Miller was evident. Brock Boeser got a nice one-timer opportunity off an odd bounce out of the slot. Otherwise, the big positive from the second power play opportunity was the puck control and passing while under pressure.

Danton Heinen gave the Canucks their third straight power play opportunity of the game, drawing a trip against Capobianco while chasing down a loose puck in the neutral zone off of a d-zone clearance.

The third power play opportunity built off the work started in the second attempt. The top of the umbrella crisply moved the puck around the ice. Garland and Jake Debrusk were hounding loose pucks in the slot, and Boeser patrolled the left circle like a prime Ovechkin.

The second power play unit got a look this time, with Höglander tipping a point shot narrowly over the glove of Jake Oettinger and above the net.

In the final five minutes of the period, the refs called a blatantly obvious tripping minor against Derek Forbort for executing one of the worst hip check attempts in recent memory.

2-1 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jason Robertson scores on the power play. It's 2-1 Stars
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/lPIR80hZNn">pic.twitter.com/lPIR80hZNn</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885516461302833652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Less than a minute into their first penalty kill, Heinen had his stick break, giving the Stars an uncontestable tic-tac-toe play for the tiebreaker. Jason Robertson was gifted a free shooting lane after Heinen dropped coverage in the slot to chase Wyatt Johnston at the left circle sans stick. It wasn't the best decision to abandon coverage mid-tic-to-tac. But hey, pobody's nerfect!

The Canucks were content to ride out the final handful of minutes playing keep away.

Third Period recap:

Early in the third period, Esa Lindell brilliantly defended a Canucks three-on-two rush, steering aside a cross-ice pass from Debrusk, sending Jason Robertson out of the zone on a two-on-one rush.

3-1 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Roope Hintz gives the Stars a two goal lead.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/O5qD9PhAW0">pic.twitter.com/O5qD9PhAW0</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885524103236641149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
The most notable piece from the Stars' 3-1 goal sequence was Noah Juulsen's baffling decision to jump five feet past the blue line before curling painstakingly slow on the retreat through the neutral zone. Roope Hintz had zero issues cutting toward the guts of the ice for the goal, a common theme in Friday's action.

With 14 minutes left, Quinn Hughes disappeared from the regular rotation and did not return to the bench until after a string of power play opportunities.

First, near the midway point of the third, Brendan Smith drew an interference penalty against Tyler Myers, giving Dallas their second power play opportunity of the game.

Juulsen compensated for the rough path taken on the 3-1 goal sequence by executing a couple of timely rink-wide clearances that helped the Canucks hold the Stars lead at two.

Shortly after Myers left the bench, Elias Pettersson drew a high-sticking minor against Lian Bichsel to give Vancouver their fourth power play of the night. The best scoring chance was generated by Roope Hintz for Dallas. With the game back at 5-on-5, the Canucks went to work on doubling their third-period shot total from one to two.

Quinn Hughes returned to the ice ahead of the fourth power play opportunity but looked slightly off.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here is Quinn Hughes next shift after returning from the locker room.
Looks like he is playing through something.

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/QRjk4C4jQd">pic.twitter.com/QRjk4C4jQd</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885529150993424589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Oh, and that wasn't a typo. The Canucks had a single shot on Jake Oettinger through 13 minutes of play in the third.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> second shot of the third period wasn't until 14 minutes in. <a href="https://t.co/4B5vzGvgzt">pic.twitter.com/4B5vzGvgzt</a>
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) <a href="https://twitter.com/LachInTheCrease/status/1885529893829828925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Phil Di Giuseppe obliged with the club's second shot of the period, then the rest of the Canucks spent the remainder of the game feeding passes to the point for fruitless point shots.

Hronek drew a slashing minor against Brendan Smith, giving them a fifth power play opportunity. Rick Tocchet pulled Demko for the extra attacker and a hail-mary 6-on-4 push to get within a goal.

However, after losing the faceoff, Hintz threw a high-flip cross-ice into the empty net to give Dallas a commanding three-goal lead with three minutes left.

4-1 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
4-1 Stars.
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/a6dWXshOCg">pic.twitter.com/a6dWXshOCg</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885530099518497011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Canucks tried to make it semi-interesting, with Debrusk scoring on the still-existing power play to cut the Stars' lead to two.

4-2 Stars.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨CANUCKS GOAL🚨
Jake DeBrusk scores his 18th goal of the season.

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/1T7DMZQwhk">pic.twitter.com/1T7DMZQwhk</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885530865671037201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
But Robertson iced it with the Stars' second empty netter in as many minutes, ending any hope of a classic Canucks comeback.

Final: 5-3 Stars.

Bummer.

Final takeaways:

-Hughes looked good until he didn't. I'm unsure what happened in the third that took him out of the rotation. I'm even more unsure why the club kept throwing him on the ice for a futile third-period push, considering they had only two shots on goal after 14 minutes. I don't think Hughes will be at the Four Nations if this is as bad as it appears.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This doesn't look good....
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL <a href="https://t.co/XpIlutcGZj">pic.twitter.com/XpIlutcGZj</a>

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1885531289585148068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
-I liked Nils Höglander's game a lot tonight. It's been a long time coming, but Höglander finding his groove could be massive to the club's playoff aspirations now that they are absent a top-line forward.

-Demko with another rough stat line, but I find it hard to fault him for the result. When it mattered the most, the Canucks could not defend the guts of the ice to save their lives. The Stars were held to just 16 shots on Demko, and over half were dangerous looks off the rush or looks generated by the club's soft play in board battles around the perimeter. The effort, once again, wasn't good enough.

-The Canucks whirlwind win streak ends at three games. They've yet to match their season-high four-game win streak set back in October during the first ten games of the season. Yikes!
<div class="mb-5">What's your instant reaction to tonight's game? Let us know in the comments section below!</div>
<div>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="329" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>
</div>

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