Tolopilo shines in Canucks win but denied shutout due to concussion protocol

VANCOUVER – When is a shutout not a shutout? When both of a team’s goalies log time in net.

That was the situation in Vancouver on Thursday, when Nikita Tolopilo was denied his first-ever clean sheet in his 10th NHL appearance despite stopping all 33 pucks he faced in 57:49 of action against the Anaheim Ducks.

After Tolopilo was pulled by the concussion spotter during the first intermission, Kevin Lankinen stepped in for 2:11 to start the second, making one save on the way to a 2-0 Canucks win over the Ducks.

“When they do that test, it’s usually about a 15-minute test,” said Canucks coach Adam Foote after the game. “He had to get take his gear off. We were trying to stall it, but we didn’t have the time.”

With the Canucks and Ducks locked in a scoreless draw after 20 minutes, Tolopilo was tagged for observation after Anaheim had a goal called back due to goalie interference with 2:01 left in the opening frame. Ducks centre Ryan Poehling also ended up in the net, drawing a two-minute minor for his collision with the Vancouver stopper.

The 25-year-old Tolopilo, who was signed as a free agent by the Canucks in 2023, was hopeful he’d get back in time for the beginning of the second period. Foote didn’t hesitate to put him back in as soon as he was available.

“It takes a while, but I think I actually did it pretty quickly,” he said.

And while Tolopilo will have to wait to put his first shutout onto his personal record, he was undaunted. The Canucks’ 2-0 win over Anaheim was just their second in their last 16 games and only their sixth on home ice all season.

“The win is more important,” he said. “I’m happy that we got the win.”

The Canucks are now 6-17-3 at home in 2025-26 but remain seven points back of the 31st-place St. Louis Blues at the bottom of the NHL standings.

After watching their team get beaten so regularly this year, the fans at Rogers Arena managed to get a wave going across both the upper and lower bowls while the game was still scoreless at the midpoint of the third period.

“It was exciting because we haven’t had a ton of close games recently,” said forward Drew O’Connor, who scored his second game-winning goal of the year after also taking down the Ducks in a 5-4 win in Anaheim back on Nov. 26. 

“You want that feeling of being in a meaningful game, and we haven’t had that for a little while in the third period, it’s felt like. I think everyone was excited to play and just looking forward to getting a win.”

With 9:42 left in the third, O’Connor one-timed a pass from Jake DeBrusk past Lukas Dostal to break the deadlock with his 13th goal.

“It was going over no matter what the puck was doing,” said DeBrusk, who chastised himself for whiffing on an earlier opportunity before tallying his 15th assist of the year in his 600th career NHL game. “He was in the right spot at the right time, and good finish. He’s obviously had a great year for himself and he’s shooting a lot, so I was happy to reward him.”

For the injury-riddled Ducks, the loss was their second straight following a seven-game winning streak that had pushed them into the wild-card mix in the Western Conference.

“I know they’ve got some guys out but they still have a good rush team,” said Foote, who was pleased with his team’s structure and defensive effort. “We were a lot faster going back for pucks, and we were more layered. There were less slot plays, less east-west behind the net. Guys were layered a lot better and it seemed like we got a little bit of confidence as the game went on.”

The Canucks will play their last home game before the Olympic break against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, then hit the road against Utah and Vegas before the league shutters starting on Feb. 6.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2026.