Penalty kill potent, power play struggling early for Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER – Kiefer Sherwood knows special teams can make or break an NHL team.

Early in the season, his Vancouver Canucks have seen their penalty kill and power play trend in opposite directions.

“Power play and (penalty kill) are chances for momentum shifts and energy,” the winger said after the Canucks dropped a 5-2 decision to the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

“So our PK takes pride in trying to get the momentum back after a kill. And from there, we keep rolling.”

Vancouver killed off two of three penalties and notched a short-handed tally in the loss.

Sherwood picked off a pass in his own zone midway through the second period and sprinted up the ice on a breakaway to go one-on-one with Blues goalie Jordan Binnington. At the last possible moment, he pulled the puck to his forehand and tucked it in behind Binnington’s outstretched left skate.

“It was just good pressure and kind of forced them to make a bad pass,” Sherwood said of the goal. “Then we just kind of were off to the races and kind of just get after it, I guess.”

The Canucks went into Monday’s game having killed all nine penalties they faced in their first two outings of the 2025-26 campaign.

Structure and a solid defence have helped the unit be effective, Sherwood said.

“We have long D here, and they have a lot of good reads, and they’re big keys for us down the stretch,” he said. “So the forwards kind of read off of them. And once we take care of the seams and stuff, it kind of allows the pressure to kind of take care of itself.”

Vancouver’s other special teams units have struggled early this season.

After getting stymied on their lone power play on Monday, the Canucks are 0-for-7 with the man advantage through the first three games of the season.

“They’ve just got to execute,” said head coach Adam Foote. “I think sometimes, you get into your own head and you over analyze. And they’re really good players, they’ll figure it out. And once one drops, that’s usually when the confidence picks up.”

TOP-LINE TROUBLE?

Vancouver’s top forward line of Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk were held off the scoresheet Monday.

Boeser is the lone player of the trio to have scored so far this season, registering the final goal in a 5-1 season-opening win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday, then scoring the lone tally in a 3-1 loss to the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday.

Pettersson has one assist on the season and DeBrusk has contributed two helpers.

Asked Monday whether he needs more from his top players, Foote said it’s too soon to be worried about their production.

“It’s early in the season. We’re not going to get into that,” he said. “The top guys, I’m sure they’re thinking about their power play. It’s been three games and they want to get a goal. But we’re not going to over analyze that at this moment.”

SNUGGERUD SCORES

Playing just his 10th regular-season NHL game, Jimmy Snuggerud scored twice for the Blues on Monday.

The rookie winger now has three points (two goals, one assist) in three games this season.

Brayden Schenn called the 21-year-old Snuggerud “the best player on the ice” for St. Louis in the victory.

“He’s dynamic, he’s elite, obviously a high hockey IQ, and that first shot is pretty high-end,” said the Blues captain. “He knows how to score goals, knows to go to the right areas and I think with him, he’s only getting better as he goes here.”

Snuggerud, who led his team in shots with six, said it was his best game so far.

“Defensive effort to finish was kind of like last game a little bit with blocking shots and things like that,” he said. “But it’s so fun to see and guys are committing this early in the season, so it’s great.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2025.