VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks did a lot of things right against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night.
Head coach Adam Foote said even though they lost 5-4 in overtime against the best team in the NHL, the Canucks showed flashes of what they can be.
鈥淚 like the resilience,鈥 said Foote. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get players to believe what we鈥檙e doing is working. We鈥檝e got a lot of young guys in that lineup right now that are playing bigger minutes than probably they anticipated.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing a hell of a job. They鈥檝e been really resilient. That鈥檚 the positive we鈥檙e going to take.鈥
The Canucks (8-8-1) didn鈥檛 fold when they fell behind 2-0 early. Vancouver got a short-handed goal from Drew O鈥機onnor to tie the game once, then after falling behind again, forced the overtime on Jake DeBrusk鈥檚 power-play goal with just 3:01 left in the game.
They got production from their leading goal scorer when Kiefer Sherwood scored his 10th of the year. Linus Karlsson opened the scoring with his first goal in 14 games this season.
Vancouver also got solid goaltending from backup Kevin Lankinen who was playing in his second game in as many nights.
鈥淚 think that should give us some confidence,鈥 said Karlsson. 鈥淲e were in the game all the time. Maybe the start really wasn鈥檛 our best, but I think we grew into the game.
鈥淚t sucks to lose and we have to look what we can do better. But overall, I think we played pretty good.鈥
Gavin Brindley scored 68 seconds into overtime to give the Avalanche the win.
Artturi Lehkonen scored twice in the third period 鈥 including once on the power play 鈥 for Colorado.
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in a span of 1:28, once on the power play, to give Colorado a 2-0 first-period lead. He also added three assists for a five-point game. Valeri Nichushkin had two assists for the Avs, who lead the league with a 10-1-5 record. Cale Makar 鈥 who leads all defenceman in scoring with 21 points from six goals and 15 assists 鈥 collected two assists.
Both team were coming off wins Saturday night. Vancouver defeated the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3, while Colorado drubbed the Oilers 9-1 in Edmonton.
Lankinen was back in net after starter Thatcher Demko did not dress for the second consecutive game after missing practice Friday.
He stopped 27 shots, including a flurry of saves in the final wild moments of regulation.
鈥淚 felt great,鈥 the Helsinki, Finland, native said about the back-to-back starts. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檝e been working extremely hard for over the years. I give a lot of credit to my strength and conditioning game back home.鈥
DeBrusk said Lankinen didn鈥檛 buckle under the Colorado pressure.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e such an offensive team,鈥 said DeBrusk, who has goals in three of his last four games. 鈥淭hey throw a lot of pucks from the point and a lot of deflections.
鈥淗e鈥檚 (Lankinen) been a rock for us. He gave us a chance to win, and he was the main reason why it got to overtime. We鈥檙e not even there if he鈥檚 not in net.鈥
Foote said Demko could be ready to play on Tuesday when Vancouver hosts the Winnipeg Jets.
So far this season the Canucks have been a middle-of-the pack team. DeBrusk believes the game against Colorado shows Vancouver鈥檚 potential.
鈥淲e stuck in there with them,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think guys are getting more used to playing with each other. We need to be better. I feel like it鈥檚 a good confidence booster, but you want the two points.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Nov. 9, 2025.
