Canucks Strong Road Trip Ends With Loss to Flyers

The Vancouver Canucks couldn't finish their road trip with a perfect record. They fell 5-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers, ending a five-game journey at 4-1 and closing out an emotionally charged 10 days that saw the team trade captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.

Despite the loss, the trip revealed a team finding its way after a difficult start to the season. The Canucks showed improved defensive structure and got stellar goaltending from Thatcher Demko, who continued his return to form even in defeat.

The Canucks started well enough, outhitting the Flyers 10-2 in the first six minutes while holding a slight edge in shots. But a terrible power play at 10:52 of the first period killed their momentum, and Philadelphia took control from there.

Coach Adam Foote didn't sugarcoat what happened. "They had more juice than us, their legs were going, and they got inside ice on us. They got to the net, and that was the difference. It was a good trip, especially with all the movement and what happened. It just looked like tonight we ran out of gas," Foote explained.

Flyers Take Control

Nikita Grebenkin opened the scoring at 13:13 of the second period, deflecting a puck past Demko. The game was still there for Vancouver early in the third, but the Flyers pulled away with two quick goals.

Carl Grundstrom made it 2-0 at 5:58, whacking his own rebound past Demko after Trevor Zegras forced a point-blank save. Christian Dvorak added another at 7:49 after a bad pinch, and an outnumbered rush left the Canucks disorganized.

Max Sasson gave Vancouver life with a breakaway goal at 13:05, sliding the puck between Dan Vladar's pads. But Owen Tippett restored the three-goal lead at 15:35 with a beautiful breakaway finish after turning rookie Tom Willander the wrong way.

Flyers vs Canuck — Dec 22, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Christian Dvorak (22) celebrates his goal against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) during the third period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Matvei Michkov added an empty-netter before Zeev Buium showed off his offensive ability, weaving deep into the Philadelphia zone and dishing a backhand pass to Drew O'Connor for a goal with 18 seconds remaining.

Veteran Scoring Remains an Issue

The loss wasn't on Demko. He was beaten cleanly only once, on Tippett's breakaway, and made several key saves to keep the game within reach. His continued strong play gives Vancouver hope moving forward. The biggest concern for the Canucks continues to be scoring from their top players.

Conor Garland, Jake DeBrusk, and Evander Kane each have just one goal in December. Brock Boeser hasn't scored since November 28. Elias Pettersson remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury that he tweaked last week. Foote said he's getting close but couldn't confirm when the $92.8 million center would return.

The Canucks head into the Christmas break at 4-1 on their road trip and with momentum despite Monday's loss. They'll need their veterans to start scoring when play resumes this weekend against the San Jose Sharks.

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