'It's hard': Rebuilding Vancouver Canucks feel frustration as losses mount

Vancouver Canucks' Zeev Buium (24) and Los Angeles Kings' Brandt Clarke (92) are broken up by linesman Dan Kelly (98) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER — It’s been a frustrating season for the Vancouver Canucks.

Now, with just 10 games left in the season, the rebuilding team is vying to not let the emotion take over as they play out the stretch.

“It’s hard on everybody right now,” defenceman Filip Hronek said Thursday after the Canucks fell 4-0 to the visiting Los Angeles Kings. ”And it’s not easy, but we have to learn from this. And, just, no one else is going to help us. We have to keep grinding.”

The result marked Vancouver’s fourth straight loss and capped an eight-game homestand where the team went 2-6-0.

The Canucks remain cemented to the bottom of the NHL standings with a 21-42-8 record. The team has given up the most goals per game this season (3.72), has the worst penalty kill (71.2 per cent) and was the first eliminated from playoff contention.

They were outshot 38-19 on Thursday, outhit 23-14, and won just 26.2 per cent of the faceoffs.

“Just couldn’t get anything going tonight,” said Canucks blueliner Zeev Buium. ”I think they pretty much dominated us most of the game. So that just sucks.”

L.A., meanwhile, is still chasing a post-season berth.

With Thursday’s win, the Kings (29-25-18) sit a single point behind the Nashville Predators, who hold the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot.

“It’s hard. It’s hard knowing that you’re eliminated, obviously. And there’s other teams that have so much to play for. We’re playing a lot of teams that have a lot to play for,” said Canucks winger Brock Boeser. ”So it can be hard at times, but you’ve got to keep the right mindset.

“A lot of guys have a lot to play for to finish the year out here. So, I think we just got to stick together as a team. We got to work hard.”

Emotions boiled over in the final minutes of Thursday’s game when Buium, a rookie defenceman, dropped the gloves with Brandt Clarke.

It took officials several moments to separate the pair and diffuse the scrums that popped up around them.

“I think you lose like that, especially on home ice, it’s never fun,” Buium said of what sparked the tilt.

“And you see your teammates getting kind of jumped a little bit. And, they’re up 4-0, I don’t think that necessarily needs to happen, but, you know, I’m glad that we all stuck up for each other.”

HOME ICE ADVANTAGE?

The Kings now head back to Los Angeles for a seven-game homestand before closing out the season with a three-game road swing.

Home ice hasn’t been kind to the team this season, with the Kings going 10-16-8 at Crypto.com Arena.

That will need to change as L.A. continues its push for a playoff spot, said interim head coach D.J. Smith.

“We just got to play good. Doesn’t matter who we play. We got to play good, and we got to defend. We’re creating enough right now,” he said.

“We just got to make sure we’re defending enough, we’re disciplined and, for whatever reason, we haven’t been great at home. I think it’s our time now to get hot here in the last little bit, and really give ourselves a chance.”

The Kings will see some familiar faces down the final stretch, including the Canucks, who they’ll play two more times — once at home and once in Vancouver — before the end of the regular season.

KUEMPER’S CLEAN SHEET

Darcy Kuemper stopped all 19 shots he faced in L.A.’s net to post his third shutout of the season and the 39th of his career.

“They’re always fun, but it takes a whole team to get one, so I think it’s just a credit to how well we played and how focused we were tonight,” the veteran goalie said of the milestone. ”We were responsible start from finish and huge win for us.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published March 27, 2026.