Professor’s Press Box Morning Review – Nov. 17: Canucks Storm Back for 6–2 Win vs. Lightning

Some games just turn on a dime, and the Vancouver Canucks’ visit to Tampa to face the Lightning felt like one of those nights. For 20 minutes, Vancouver looked like they were skating uphill wearing ankle weights. One shot in the first period? That’s usually the start of a long, desperate night. But this team didn’t fold, and that’s the part worth underlining. They stuck around just long enough for the ice to tilt their way. In the end, the Canucks took home a 6-2 win.

Quinn Hughes Returned, and That’s a Huge Canucks’ Advantage

When Quinn Hughes returned, you could almost sense a little crackle in the air. Maybe it was confidence, maybe it was familiarity, maybe it was simply the captain reminding everyone how to hold onto a game rather than let it slip away. Once he got his legs moving, the puck started humming again. Four assists later, you remembered exactly how much this team leans on him.

He doesn’t just make the plays; he carries the calm. Vancouver didn’t find its rhythm all at once; they found it shift by shift until Tampa suddenly looked like the team trying to hold on.

By the time the third period rolled around, everything the Canucks touched turned to something dangerous. The power play woke up. Bounces finally broke their way. Guys who’ve been grinding but not finishing—Kiefer Sherwood, Linus Karlsson, and Drew O’Connor—saw pucks drop in for them. It wasn’t pretty early, and it wasn’t clean, but you’d take that kind of pushback every night. Good teams survive the stretches where they don’t feel good. Vancouver did more than survive—they finished with style.

Three Key Points from the Canucks’ Perspective

Key Point 1. Quinn Hughes Changes Everything for the Canucks. Four assists in his first game back say enough. But it was more than the points; he settled the group. Once he got moving, the whole bench seemed to breathe a little easier.

Key Point 2. The Canucks’ Third-Period Surge Wasn’t Luck. Five goals in one period looks wild on paper, but the Canucks earned it. They stuck to simple hockey—pucks behind the defense, pressure on the forecheck, bodies at the crease. Every goal looked the same. Set up in the Tampa end of the ice, get bodies in front of the net, and fire away from the point. Once the puck started to find the twine for Vancouver, it didn’t stop.

Key Point 3. Vancouver’s Secondary Scoring Finally Showed Up. This was a game where the bottom half of the lineup did the heavy lifting. Sherwood, O’Connor, Karlsson, and Mackenzie MacEachern. They kept their team afloat when the stars were grinding.

Final Canucks Thought

If you’re a Canucks’ fan, see the team walk out of Tampa feeling like it’s rediscovered its backbone. You didn’t love their start. However, if you bailed on the game to watch the beginning of the Grey Cup conversation that was going on in Winnipeg, you missed a remarkable comeback from your team.

The Canucks took over a game they were clearly losing. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the kind of gritty comeback that carries weight in an 82-game season.