Fans of the Vancouver Canucks are forming strong opinions after a win over the New York Islanders. The discussion centers on the Dec. 12 trade that sent defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston Bruins NHL game from December 20, 2025 on ESPN.

While Vancouver has potential building blocks on the blueline (Buium, Willander, Pettersson) and some intriguing up-and-coming goaltenders (2025 second-round pick Aleksei Medvedev, Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young), the forward group is still desperately devoid of elite talent.

Liam Ohgren, who scored the only goal of the shootout in the seventh round, had a goal and assist for the Canucks (15-17-3), who extended their winning streak to four games since defenseman Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12. Ohgren has two goals in four games since joining the Canucks in the trade.

The NHL's 2025-26 roster freeze will go into place at midnight on Dec. 20 and last until Dec. 28. Here's how it implicates the Vancouver Canucks in particular.

Marco Rossi has gone scoreless since joining Vancouver. Our expert NHL predictions expect that to change tonight against the Bruins!

The Vancouver Canucks look to continue their winning ways as they head to Boston to battle with the Bruins in the fourth game of their five-game road trip. Following a clean sweep of the three New York-area teams,

Andrew Peeke tied it with less than four minutes left in regulation, but Boston couldn't score in the shootout.

Filip Hronek and Marcus Pettersson have generally handled toughs, being deployed in as hard a match as Canucks assistant coach Kevin Dean was able to manage on the road against Nico Hischier’s line with Jesper Bratt on Sunday and against Mika Zibanejad’s line with Artemi Panarin on Tuesday.

The Vancouver Canucks continue their five-game road trip on Saturday when they visit the Boston Bruins. Vancouver enters Saturday having won their last three games and will be looking to extend its streak to four against the Bruins. Here are the lineup notes for December 20, 2025.