Floundering Vancouver Canucks need to believe in comebacks: coach

It’s been a difficult season for the Canucks (18-35-7), who remain slumped at the bottom of the NHL standings, 23 points out of a playoff spot. Monday marked the team’s sixth straight loss (0-4-2).

Keeping the group motivated is about working as a collective, Foote said.

“You’ve just got to stay with it and play for each other and play for your goalie,” he said. “We’ve all been there. Sometimes it’s magnified now because of the situation we’re in.”

The Stars (37-14-9), meanwhile, have now won a franchise-high nine games in a row and are pushing the Colorado Avalanche for top spot in the Western Conference.

Vancouver got off to a solid start on Monday, opening the scoring midway through the first period with a goal from Evander Kane.

The score was level at 1-1 heading into the intermission after Stars winger Adam Erne pinged a shot in off the skate of goalie Nikita Tolopilo.

Dallas knows exactly where the Canucks sit in the standings and upped their competitiveness in the middle frame, said centre Matt Duchene.

“(Vancouver) competed, they battled. I’ve been in those situations for where you’re having a tough year, you come out hard, you play hard, and then things just get away from you,” he said. “You’ve got to do that to those teams. You got to take their will away. They’re a proud group, they’re going to keep competing and the second period was huge.”

The Stars broke open the game midway through the second with two goals over 70 seconds.

Lian Bichsel put the visitors up 2-1 with a blast from the slot, and Jason Robertson followed with a power-play tally just a minute and 10 seconds later.

Kane admitted that his team’s dismal showing this season makes it harder to push against adversity within a game.

“I think we’re all human. We understand this isn’t very much fun,” said the veteran winger. “So at the same time, you have to have some mental toughness and some pushback and some fight. And whether you’ve got to make up something in your head to get angry and get to work, that’s what you’ve got to do.”

With 22 games left on the schedule, Vancouver simply needs to find a way to play in difficult situations, said defenceman Marcus Pettersson.

“We can’t just fall down and die, you know? We’ve got to back on the horse,” he said. “And it’s up to us veterans in here to kind of get the team back on track. And I think we’ve got to do a better job of that.”

CALL IT A COMEBACK

Bichsel notched his first two-goal game in his third appearance back in the lineup.

The 21-year-old Swiss defenceman suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 30, had surgery and missed 31 games before returning ahead of the Olympic break.

“The last three months has been a lot of work,” he said on Monday. “I was trying to rehab fast, but also with patience. It wasn’t easy at all times, but I think we all did a great job, the physios, the trainers, and everyone involved.

“So I’m really happy it’s paying off right now and I think this team has been on a heater for a while, and we came back strong after the break, so it’s good that we keep this rolling.”

DEFENCEMAN DOWN?

Vancouver blue liner Pierre-Olivier Joseph went to the locker room early in the third period after a 16-second shift and did not return.

Foote said the defenceman had X-rays on an upper-body injury and the team was waiting for the results.

Vancouver is already short a defenceman as Tyler Myers was held out a third straight game Monday for trade-related reasons.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Floundering Vancouver Canucks need to believe in comebacks: coach

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