VANCOUVER – A new atmosphere is hanging over the Vancouver Canucks in the final days of the season.
The team is anchored to the bottom of the NHL standings and at the tail end of a disastrous campaign — and yet a lightness seems to be permeating the locker room.
“You can tell it’s changed,” said rookie defenceman Zeev Buium of the atmosphere. “I think just by the way we play, we’ve really come together off the ice and got to know each other and care about each other.”
That’s shown on the ice, he added, particularly in the way teammates are standing up for one another.
Veteran blueliner Filip Hronek came to Buium’s defence Tuesday after he took an ugly hit midway through a tilt with the Los Angeles Kings.
The score was knotted at 3-3 midway through the period when Hronek challenged L.A.’s Mathieu Joseph to a fight. The duo dropped their gloves, exchanged blows and tussled before both were thrown in the penalty box.
“Didn’t have to do that,” Buium said. “And then you’re willing to go out there and block anything, block a shot with any part of your body.
“All of us are really starting to come together and starting to move forward and not track back. And hopefully we can just carry that in the next game and next year.”
The Canucks (25-48-8) went on to beat the Kings 4-3 in overtime for their third straight victory.
It was the squad’s first win at home since March 17 when Vancouver handed the Florida Panthers a 5-2 defeat. Tuesday’s victory marked the second time all season the Canucks have won three straight games.
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“It’s not a fluke what happened these last three games,” said Canucks head coach Adam Foote.
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“These teams are pushing. They all wanted to beat us because of their own destinies. We’re doing things right. We’re playing as a team. They’re sticking to the game plan.”
Sticking to the game plan hasn’t always been the case this season.
Extended losing streaks have pockmarked the 2025-26 calendar, including a stretch where the team went 11 games without a win.
Seeing captain and star defenceman Quinn Hughes traded to the Minnesota Wild in mid-December didn’t help, Foote said. Neither did the rash of injuries that began early in the campaign and continued to mount all year.
The coach credited some of Vancouver’s veterans — including Hronek, defenceman Marcus Pettersson and forwards Brock Boeser and Teddy Blueger — with transforming the mindset after March’s trade deadline.
“They’ve been getting torn apart as a group for a very long time,” he said. “And they decided ‘Hey, this is our team. We know where we’re going. We’re staying here. This is who we’ve got.’”
Buium believes this is just the beginning.
The Canucks have just one game left this season: a battle with the Oilers in Edmonton on Thursday.
This string of positive results can set a foundation and a new standard in Vancouver.
“It’s something that I think that we all know that we need and that we’re working toward, and everybody wants the same thing,” he said.
“We want to win games. We want to contend. We want to reach for the stars. And I think that’s the big message, and we’re all just trying to continue to do that.”
JAKE’S JACKPOT
Jake DeBrusk tapped in a backdoor shot to seal Vancouver’s victory Tuesday.
It was the winger’s second goal of the night and his fourth over the last three games.
“For sure, I want to end off strong. We all do. It’s been a tough year,” he said.
“But it’s nice to see the puck going (in) the net, some plays are starting to happen and be able to finish … It’s unfortunate the situation, what it is. I’d like to keep it going, but in saying that, it was nice to contribute in the win tonight.”
DeBrusk now has 23 goals on the season, including 23 power-play tallies.
“Jake went through a lot of frustration this year. And you could see it,” Foote said, noting the former Boston Bruin isn’t used to missing out on playoff hockey.
“It seems like he’s swinging, too. He’s a streaky guy, too. He’ll score in streaks … but it seems like he’s having some more fun and he’s buying into it.”
ONE MORE TIME
The Kings (35-26-20) are headed back to the playoffs, but must first finish out the regular season Thursday against the Flames in Calgary.
Interim head coach D.J. Smith said he isn’t planning to change his approach for the 82nd game of the season.
“Other than guys being banged up, I think we’re going to go with our group and let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “You can’t dictate what other teams are going to do.”
L.A. finished Tuesday still sitting in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.
The Kings are tied with the Ducks on points (90), but Anaheim has more wins (42).
That’s fine by Smith.
“If you asked me a month ago, in your last 15 games you are going to lose one in regulation, or whatever it is, you’d take it,” he said. “So, at the end of the day, we’re going to go out, do our best and whoever we play, we’re going to play, and we got to be ready.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
