Jets expose Canucks’ defensive collapse in 6-2 rout as Vancouver sinks to 3-14-1

Winnipeg made Vancouver’s problems plain in a 6-2 win Thursday: the Canucks couldn’t match the Jets’ pace, win enough puck battles or protect the space in front of their net. Two goals in the first four minutes set the tone, and by the time Dawson Mercer made it 3-1, the game had already slipped away.

The defeat leaves Vancouver 3-14-1, with 14 losses in its last 15 games. It was the sixth time in 18 games the Canucks have lost by three or more goals, and a sharp reversal after four more competitive outings. In those games, they lost three times by a combined four goals and largely held their own at five-on-five. Thursday offered no similar resistance.

Winnipeg seized the opening minutes

The Canucks took an unnecessary penalty when Drew O’Connor hooked Cole Perfetti in the neutral zone just 2:26 into the game. Alex Iafallo converted the power play at 3:49, deflecting Hayden Fleury’s shot past Leevi Merilainen with his stick free in front of Guillaume Brisebois.

Vancouver had barely settled before Victor Mancini gave the puck away deep in his own zone. Fourteen seconds after Iafallo’s goal, Cole Koepke sent a shot from the right-wing boards between Merilainen’s pads. The Canucks were down 2-0, had been outshot 7-0 and had handed Winnipeg control before the game had found a rhythm.

“We just seem to put ourselves at a disadvantage early for no reason, and those are the types of things that we have to clean up,” coach Manny Malhotra said, calling O’Connor’s infraction “a lazy hooking penalty for no reason in the neutral zone.”

Stuart Skinner gave Vancouver a lifeline at 6:51, when a mistake by the Winnipeg goaltender allowed Liam Ohgren to score. But the reprieve lasted only until 14:04. Cole Perfetti found Mercer alone in the low slot, and the forward converted as Canucks defenders watched the play unfold. Winnipeg restored its two-goal cushion at 3-1.

The gaps in front of Merilainen kept widening

Vancouver weathered a power play and some early pressure from the Canucks in the second period, then struck twice through the space around Merilainen. Neal Pionk scored on a rebound at 6:52 after Kyle Connor carried the puck to the goal-front while Filip Hronek and his teammates failed to disrupt him. At 11:36, Mark Scheifele prodded in another rebound one-handed after Jake DeBrusk lost the puck behind the Vancouver net. The score was 5-1 by the 32nd minute.

Those goals followed the same pattern as Mercer’s: Winnipeg got to dangerous areas, and Vancouver’s coverage broke down. Malhotra said the Jets played a “big, heavy game” and the Canucks lacked the pushback to compete with it. He also pointed to losing races and puck battles, the kind of failures that gave Winnipeg repeated chances to attack before Vancouver could reset.

“These are the types of games where you find out a lot about your group in terms of what they're capable of doing in terms of pushing back,” Malhotra said. “We were on the short end of a lot of puck battles and races tonight.”

A troubling pattern, with Edmonton next

The result arrived as Winnipeg was finding its own footing, having just ended a nine-game losing streak with a four-goal comeback in Montreal. The Jets have also been a persistent obstacle for Vancouver in Manitoba: the Canucks are 5-18-1 there since Winnipeg returned to the NHL in 2011. Thursday was their seventh consecutive loss in the city, and their last win there came nearly five years ago.

Vancouver’s start is edging toward the worst opening quarter in the NHL’s salary-cap era. The 2023-24 San Jose Sharks had a 3-15-2 record through 20 games and a .200 points percentage; the Canucks stand at 3-14-1 and .194. With an 84-game schedule, Vancouver has three more games in the first quarter, beginning Saturday in Edmonton against the Oilers, described in the source as a Stanley Cup contender.

Malhotra warned that the competition will only tighten as teams sharpen their systems and players find their form. For a Canucks group that has set competitiveness and resilience as minimum standards during its rebuild, the immediate task is clear: start games with discipline, defend the middle and answer when opponents bring pressure. Thursday, Vancouver managed none of those things.

Notes from Winnipeg

Hronek finished minus-four, while Elias Pettersson recorded an 11.64 per cent expected-goals-for share at five-on-five. Tom Willander skated Thursday morning but missed his second straight game while recovering from a lower-body injury. Luke Schenn, a former Jet, was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in five games.

Jacob Quillan, called up from the minors, earned his first point with Vancouver by setting up Brock Boeser’s late third-period goal. Merilainen, getting more starts during Kevin Lankinen’s slump, has lost seven of his last eight games and stayed below a 90 per cent save rate in each of his last six. Winnipeg outhit Vancouver 31-20. The Canucks are expected to practise Friday in Edmonton, where they’ll have little time to shake off the latest setback.