Boy, did we need that win! The Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 and head into the Four Nations Face-Off break on a high note. Don’t look now, but the Canucks are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. This season has had its share of ups and downs, but it seems like the Canucks are finally starting to figure it out. The additions of Marcus Pettersson, Filip Chytil, and Drew O’Connor have been great so far. Quinn Hughes missed his fourth straight game, but once again, other players stepped up. Filip Hronek stepped up big time for Vancouver, he had a goal and an assist, as well as playing solid defensively.

BEAT THE BUDS❗️ #AllTogetherAllIn pic.twitter.com/pKlQFUAX9z

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 9, 2025

Okay, you’re probably wondering how Elias Pettersson played. Petey had a great game; he set up Hronek for Vancouver’s first goal with a beautiful pass. Pettersson finally started to look like himself today, making plays on both ends of the ice. I loved his game today. Another player that started to look like himself again is Thatcher Demko. Demko was coming off two great games heading into Saturday. Unfortunately, Demko had to leave Saturday’s game midway through the first period due to an injury. You could feel every Canucks fan gasp as we were all praying that it wasn’t the same knee that has been bothering him since last year’s playoffs.

Kevin Lankinen came in relief and played amazing. The Canucks shut down the star-studded Maple Leafs, who were on a three-game winning streak on their road trip. Brock Boeser netted the game-winning goal on the power play in the third period, and the Canucks held on for a tight 2-1 win. I don’t know about you, but I’m very happy with how the Canucks are playing. They are starting to look like last year’s team. I don’t care that they are playing boring hockey, a win is a win, and we’ll take those in any capacity. The Canucks have two weeks off to rest up and finish the season strong.