Ehlers, Deslauriers score twice as Hurricanes down slumping Canucks 6-3

Goalie Leevi Merilainen provided a bright spot for Vancouver with 26 saves, and stopped a Sebastian Aho penalty shot attempt in the second period after Canucks centre Elias Pettersson was caught throwing his stick in an attempt to interrupt the centreman’s attack.

Stankoven, who hails from Kamloops, B.C., drew audible cheers from a tranche of fans in the lower bowl when he opened the scoring at the 4:44 mark of the first period.

Blake chipped Stankoven a backhanded pass and the Carolina centreman sent a blast soaring in for his fifth goal of the season.

The Canucks replied midway through the frame when Karlsson fired a shot over Kochetkov’s shoulder for his third goal of the season.

It took the Hurricanes less than two minutes to regain the lead.

Canucks defenceman Tom Willander lost track of Ehlers behind the Vancouver net and the winger took advantage, sneaking up from below the goal line, collecting a pass from Blake and snapping an uncontested shot into a yawning net to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.

With just two seconds left in the opening frame, Lekkerimaki swiped a shot up and in over Kochetkov to level the score again heading into the locker rooms.

Less than three minutes into the second, the visitors capitalized on a Canucks clearing attempt with Jesperi Kotkaniemi picking the puck off along the boards and dishing it to Deslauriers. The veteran forward sent a shot in under the crossbar to put the Hurricanes up 3-2.

The tally marked the first time the journeyman forward had scored since April 2025.

Again, the home side rallied.

Carolina’s Bradly Nadeau collided with Arshdeep Bains in the slot, sending the Vancouver forward crashing into Kochetkov. Sasson — who’d come out of the penalty box moments before — made use of the moment, firing in a shot to knot the score at 3-3.

Deslauriers provided the difference maker at the 4:07 mark of the third. Nadeau chipped him a backhanded pass from along the end boards and the 35-year-old forward put it in off Merilainen to give the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead.

Ehlers added an unassisted goal at 10:21 of the third, then sliced a pass to Stankoven to give him an empty-net goal with just over two minutes to go in the game.

Takeaways

Canucks: Went into the game with the league’s worst penalty kill (58.1 per cent) but killed off three infractions in the second period and a double minor in the third.

Hurricanes: There were tense moments for the already battered team midway through the second period when Ehlers went down in a heap after taking contact along the boards. He appeared to be favouring his right leg as he left the ice, but returned after speaking to a trainer on the bench for several minutes.

Key moment

Kochetkov prevented Vancouver from gaining momentum — and the lead — late in the second period when he snatched Drew O’Connor’s shot out of the air.

Key stat

The Hurricanes also beat the Canucks 7-2 on Oct. 8 and extended their win streak against the Canucks to six straight dating back to October 2024.

Up next

Canucks: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

Hurricanes: Visit the Oilers in Edmonton on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Ehlers, Deslauriers score twice as Hurricanes down slumping Canucks 6-3

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