The Canucks may have traded Quinn Hughes, but Demko's return coupled with improved play overall has Vancouver climbing the standings.

While Vancouver has potential building blocks on the blueline (Buium, Willander, Pettersson) and some intriguing up-and-coming goaltenders (2025 second-round pick Aleksei Medvedev, Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young), the forward group is still desperately devoid of elite talent.

Liam Ohgren was the only one to score in a seven-round shootout, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Boston Bruins 5-4 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

The Vancouver Canucks visit the Philadelphia Flyers after Linus Karlsson scored two goals in the Canucks' 5-4 shootout win against the Boston Bruins.

Filip Hronek and Marcus Pettersson have generally handled toughs, being deployed in as hard a match as Canucks assistant coach Kevin Dean was able to manage on the road against Nico Hischier’s line with Jesper Bratt on Sunday and against Mika Zibanejad’s line with Artemi Panarin on Tuesday.

The Vancouver Canucks continue their five-game road trip on Saturday when they visit the Boston Bruins. Vancouver enters Saturday having won their last three games and will be looking to extend its streak to four against the Bruins. Here are the lineup notes for December 20, 2025.

A pair of NHL trades on Friday night suggest that the Vancouver Canucks should be able to get a decent return for Kiefer Sherwood.