Canucks player grades: Where's the heart in 3-1 loss to punchless Blues

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You want to see these players at least exert themselves. There wasn’t much of that on Saturday.

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Published Mar 21, 2026 • Last updated 10 hours ago • 5 minute read

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Vancouver Canucks' Tom Willander stumbles as St. Louis Blues' Robert Thomas skates past him with the puck on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Vancouver Canucks’ Tom Willander stumbles as St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas skates past him with the puck on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Photo by DARRYL DYCK THE CANADIAN PRESS /THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content

When you have just 10 shots through two periods, and you’re at risk of putting up one of the worst offensive games across the entire NHL this season, you’d hope your team would have some vigour in the final period.

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Pride demands it.

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And to a degree, the Vancouver Canucks did manage to show some heart and desire in the final frame on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Arena. But they still only managed five more shots on goal in the period, including just two at five-on-five, adding up to a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

This team is all about the future, so results don’t matter in the usual sense. (That is, losses are good.)

But you do want to see the effort, and right now, there’s not enough of that. There are real struggles to get the engine going for some of these players, let alone keeping it running.

St. Louis Blues’ Dylan Holloway puts the puck into the net behind Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen before the goal was called back upon review for being played with a high stick. Photo by DARRYL DYCK THE CANADIAN PRESS /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Mistakes happen. Bad reads happen too.

Heart, though, that’s what you’re looking for: And when players are struggling in that regard, it’s time to move on.

Post-game, Drew O’Connor. was evidently frustrated with his team’s overall performance. He brought his best, as he does most nights, but he lamented his team’s start. They were too flat, he said. Too disconnected. The forwards and defence weren’t on the same page. And they only got worse in the second.

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It wasn’t till the third period they found any jump, really. And even then, they only managed a handful of shots on goal.

St. Louis wasn’t doing anything special to keep them from finding scoring chances, they just didn’t fire as a group.

That clearly disappointed him. He was working hard, getting to the net, trying to make something happen.

“We should probably (be) playing 100 per cent effort every night,” he said, when asked about his own efforts. “So sure, like, you don’t know, but it can be like, you see different guys, and you see, you know, someone throw a big hit, someone skating hard on the backcheck it can inspire the team. So when guys do that, it’s good for the group.”

The implication was there wasn’t enough of that.

And the fans, he admitted, deserve better.

“We owe a lot to the fans. I mean, you want to do well on home ice. It’s important for us,” he said of letting down the crowd, as they have too many times this year. (They’ve set a new team record for most home losses in a season.) “It doesn’t feel good for us when we go out there and don’t play well and disappoint the fans.It’s not a good feeling for us. It’s definitely not something we’re trying to do. So, yeah, I mean, we definitely owe it to them to bring 100 per cent effort every night. And if that’s not the case, then it needs to be.There’s really no excuse.”

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Lack of maturity

Teddy Blueger was unsparing in his review.

“We didn’t have it,” he said flatly. “Weren’t making plays. Weren’t executing, didn’t have any legs, maybe. But we’re just losing too many battles.”

“Even when we did get some offensive zone shifts, we had five guys on the outside, no one from the net, so it made it too easy for them.”

The slog of where they’re at is still dragging them down.

“It’s not all maturity and experience, but I think that’s part of it,” he said of his team’s struggles. “I think our details aren’t good enough, probably on a consistent basis. That’s why it’s like, good game, bad game, good, bad game, like that kind of yo-yo effect. So it’s like, when we do play well, we’re not handling it well enough to carry it over into this game, and then when it’s not going our way, we’re having a hard time snapping out of it.”

Here’s what we saw.

Forwards

Elias Pettersson C. Nice pass on the Hronek goal but just passes up so many opportunities to drive the lane.

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Drew O’Connor C+. There’s never any doubt of his effort and desire. Led the team in shots and that’s because he was actually fighting to get to the crease.

Linus Karlsson C. He’s been so much better. Normally a force on the boards, wasn’t in this one.

Marco Rossi C+. Some nice early puck decisions. He’s playing well. Passing the puck well too.

Liam Ohgren C-. One of several invisible guys much of the night.

Brock Boeser C-. Brutal night. Struggled in defensive zone puck battles and took a foolish penalty to close second. Couldn’t find the handle on a couple glorious chances late in the third.

St. Louis Blues’ Pavel Buchnevich celebrates his goal as Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser looks on during the game on March 21, 2026. Photo by DARRYL DYCK THE CANADIAN PRESS /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Teddy Blueger C-. Awful night trapped in his own end.

Nils Hoglander C. Skated hard, which he always does, but some poor reads and puck management decisions overrode all that.

Jake DeBrusk C-.He was so good for Boston vs. the Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. Invisible in this mean-nothing game.

Aatu Raty C. A really nice pass cross-ice to Boeser in the third stands out. Not much else.

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Curtis Douglas C-. Made a nice backchecking play in the first but you want more physicality. This is a game to get the blood flowing.

Evander Kane C. Stuck in mud. He’ll slither to 1,000 games from here.

Defence

Elias Pettersson C. Buried in his own end, like his team, all night.

Filip Hronek C+. He was feisty. He actually got the puck out of the Canucks’ end with control. And scored the only goal. Then took a ludicrously dumb cross-checking penalty to put St. Louis on the power play to close the game.

He was very frustrated by the penalty, offering only “no comment” and a long face when asked about it. Obviously he wasn’t a fan. “I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say.”

Marcus Pettersson C+. Was buried in his end but honestly none of it was his fault.

Tom Willander C-. Lost at sea a few times in the first. Lucky not to be whistled for a couple early penalties. Night never got better.

Zeev Buium C+. Some very good shifts with the puck on his stick. One of the best Canucks on the night, not that there was much competition.

Victor Mancini C. Nice new contract but his game was too much like it’s been lately: bad reads and poor passes.

Goalie

Kevin Lankinen C+ Not much help, but not tested much.

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Canucks player grades: Where’s the heart in 3-1 loss to punchless Blues

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