Welcome to The Weekly Rewind, a column published every Monday that recaps the past week of Vancouver Canucks hockey, including the team’s record, players with the highest stats, and more. This week, we’ll be looking at what the Canucks got up to from March 24 to 30, 2025.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

Vancouver Canucks 2025 Playoff Odds Drop Below 10% After Loss To The Winnipeg Jets

Canucks Prospects Tom Willander & Aiden Celebrini Advance To The 2025 NCAA Frozen Four

Canucks Assign Artūrs Šilovs To The Abbotsford Canucks Ahead Of Big Game Against The Winnipeg Jets

Vancouver started the week with a Prime Monday Night Hockey matchup against the New Jersey Devils. Two of the three Hughes brothers skated in this game, with Quinn Hughes registering his highest number of minutes played in one game this season with 31:38. The Canucks made comeback after comeback, tying the game up with 36 seconds left in the third period and taking the match to a shootout. Vancouver ultimately won the game 4–3 off a confident shot by rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki. 

On Wednesday, Vancouver took on former Canuck Bo Horvat and the New York Islanders, scoring four-straight to take a 5–2 win. The bulk of this win came from a stellar performance by Thatcher Demko, particularly during the first period, as he stopped all 10 shots faced in the first frame. During the second period, Vancouver and New York combined to score five goals, with the Canucks escaping the second frame with the 3–2 lead. Kiefer Sherwood had two goals and an assist in the effort. 

Friday night was a shootout for Vancouver in more than one sense — one, because they actually pushed the game to a shootout, and two, because both themselves and the Columbus Blue Jackets combined for 13 goals scored. The Canucks took an early 3–0 lead in the first period, but ultimately squandered this chance by the halfway point of the game. A Kent Johnson shootout goal gave Columbus the 7–6 win. 

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, the Canucks needed to add to their season point totals in order to contest the efforts of the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. A lone goal scored by Pius Suter was not enough for Vancouver to win, as they lost 3–1 to the Winnipeg Jets. 

Playoff Odds From MoneyPuck.com 

9.7%

Stats 

Team record: 2–1–1

Highest points-getter: Pius Suter (8)

Most goals: Aatu Räty (3)

Most assists: Pius Suter (6)

Most hits: Kiefer Sherwod (29)

Most faceoffs taken: Pius Suter (80)

Most blocks: Quinn Hughes and Marcus Pettersson (7) 

Facts 

• Kiefer Sherwood hits 400 hits in one season, becomes first NHL player to do so   
• Jonathan Lekkerimäki scores first career shootout goal
• Pius Suter records an ongoing four-game point streak 

The Canucks return to Vancouver for a three-game homestand that starts with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, with puck drop expected for 7:30 pm PT. They don’t play again until April 5, when they take on the Anaheim Ducks at 1:00 pm PT. The next day, they’ll play against the Vegas Golden Knights at 7:00 pm PT. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

It's one thing for Islanders fans, Devils fans – any NHL fans for that matter -- to put down the Rangers. In a sense, that's what rootring is all about. Root for your team but not the Blueshirts. It's the norm.

But something rare has happened this season. It began during the horrendous autumn slump suffered by the Blueshirts and grew from there.

Egad! What a cad! We have Rangers fans putting the rap on the team in unprecedented numbers and with the utmost intensity. 

Insults such as "Fat Cats," "Quitters," ":Lazy" and – well, you get the point – have gone over the internet and under the table.

One of the most interesting examples of despair came by way of an email to The Maven from a lifetime Blueshirt supporter, author and – while he's at it – Ranger fan.

Having known Patrick Hoffman for years, I can vouch for his integrity and insights, not to mention his passion for the men skating in Blue.

That's why The Maven was taken aback when Hoffman wrote that his favorite team "does not deserve to make the postseason."

That utterance alone caused me to do a double-take but Pal Patrick was not kidding around. He supported his blasphemous remark this way.

"For starters, the effort has not been there on a nightly basis. Secondly, not enough players have stepped up for the team this season. Alexis Lafrenière's play this year has been particularly  worrisome."

Then, he gave Mika Zibanejad a third-degree burn:  "No one is quite sure what to make of him."

Nor did mistake-prone K'Andre Miller escape Hoffman's scythe. "He often looks lost in his own zone and no longer looks like an NHL-calibre defenseman."

Hoffman details the negatives  as easy as he inhales and – no surprise – the blame for "poor defensive play" has to stop at coach Peter Laviolette's desk.

"Lastly," Hoffman concludes, "the team does not seem to want to make the playoffs."

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be aware that The Maven is not disputing Patrick's point. What I do challenge is his statement that the Rangers DO NOT DESERVE TO MAKE THE POSTSEASON.

How dare he utter a seditious statement such as that?

Checking through the NHL's Constitution, I find no clause devoted to whether or not a team "deserves" to get into the postseason

The Rangers either will get in or not get in based on their won-lost record from here to April 17th. "Deserving" is not the issue here. No way!

Here's my clincher. As a passionate Maple Leafs fan during the 1948-49 season, I was sad that the defending Champs barely squeezed into the playoffs with an UNDER.500 RECORD.

But they made it to the postseason and nobody – certainly not I was running around saying, "The Leafs don't deserve getting into the playoffs. The point is that Toronto got in and the city was glad.

Like others,  I hoped for the best when the playoffs – the brand, new season – began.

Well, guess what? My Leafs knocked off the Bruins in a five-game semi-final and then humiliated the first-place Red Wings with  a four-game sweep. 

Just like today's Rangers, those Leafs were assailed by doubters. After sipping champagne following the clincher, Leafs right wing explained:

"Anybody who knew us knew the Leafs were much better than we showed in the regular season. We weren't a below .500 club really. Anybody who considered us that way was way out of their minds"

Yeah, Patrick, Meeker and his fellow Leafs deserved to make the postseason and win their third straight Stanley Cup as well.

Give it a little thought, Pal,  and after your Beloved Blueshirts beat Minnesota on Wednesday night, lemme know if you change your mind.

That is, about this "deserving" business!

The Nashville Predators announced Monday morning that they will be without two key members of their veteran forward group for that evening's road game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Per the team, Colton Sissons is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, while Jonathan Marchessault is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The update on Sissons is not surprising, considering the 31-year-old exited during the first period of Saturday's loss to the Vegas Golden Knights after sustaining what appeared to be a gruesome leg injury.

The cause and severity of Marchessault's injury remain unknown, and it is unclear whether he will play for the Predators in Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Marchessault has struggled offensively of late, recording just one assist in his last 10 outings. He has 19 goals, 49 points and 76 hits in 73 games this season.

With Marchessault Sissons unavailable Monday in Philadelphia, it's likely we could see Jakub Vrana and Matthew Wood draw into the lineup for Nashville. Vrana has one goal in five games for the Predators since being claimed off waivers from the Washington Capitals on March 6 and hasn't appeared in a game since Nashville's March 20 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

Wood, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Predators over the weekend after his junior collegiate season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers came to an end with a loss to UMass Amherst in the NCAA Tournament. The injuries to Sissons and Marchessault could cause Wood to make his NHL debut sooner than anticipated, unless the Predators decide to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen Monday in Philadelphia.

Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore might have been part of a losing effort in their debuts for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Utah Hockey Club, but they impressed, especially Rinzel.

Right away, Rinzel looks like a defenseman that is fully capable of stepping right into the NHL and not playing a single game in the AHL, and that is likely what will happen. He was arguably the most impactful defenseman for the Blackhawks in his first NHL game and head coach Anders Sorensen said, "I think Rinzel had a real attack mindset. I think he had four grade A chances offensively. Did a lot of good things."

He looked smart, shifty, and creative, all what is going to make him a strong top pairing d-man for a long time in the NHL. While it may seem like this is jumping the gun, the 20-year-old was drafted in the first round and has only gotten better at a great rate since joining the Blackhawks' organization.

Frank Seravalli also shares the same sentiment towards Rinzel, mentioning that, "Sam Rinzel will not play a single game in the AHL... he projects to be a top pair NHL defenseman."

This is a different situation than with past high drafted defensemen such as Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov. The Blackhawks had to make a choice on Korchinski and he wouldn't have gotten the right development in the CHL again, so after playing out his first season in the NHL, he took a step back for better development in the AHL for a chunk of this season. Levshunov played a year in the NCAA and dominated, but he is still two draft years later than Rinzel and along with an early injury and a roster a bit too full of veterans, there wasn't the space.

Rinzel got a couple of years playing against men in college and excelled. The Blackhawks' youth movement is also in full effect as the veterans have been pushed out.

Rinzel has the capability of being the most impactful defenseman for the Blackhawks, but will have competition, which is great for the team long-term. He has a handful of games left this season to showcase himself for next season, and I don't anticipate anything keeping him from earning the spot in the NHL in training camp next season and sticking.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.