VANCOUVER – Mikael Granlund netted his first goal for the Stars as Dallas defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Sunday. The Stars acquired both the Finnish center and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks for a first- and third-round pick on February 1. In addition to Granlund, Thomas Harley, Jason Robertson, and Mikko Rantanen also scored for Dallas (42-20-2), who were coming off a 5-4 loss to the Oilers in Edmonton the previous day. Ceci and Matt Duchene each recorded two assists.
Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith, who played for the Canucks last season, stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in his return to Vancouver. Derek Forbort scored the only goal for the Canucks (29-23-11), marking his first since February 16, 2023, when he was with the Boston Bruins. Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen made 15 saves, and the team was also missing captain Quinn Hughes (lower-body injury) for the third consecutive game.
Takeaways:
Canucks: The loss didn’t help Vancouver’s playoff chances. The team remains in a tight race with the Calgary Flames, Utah Hockey Club, and St. Louis Blues for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Stars: Dallas played without star center Roope Hintz, who was injured by a puck to the face in the Stars’ 5-4 loss to the Oilers on Saturday. Head coach Pete DeBoer announced before the game that Hintz had flown back to Dallas and would undergo further tests on his injury.
Key Moment:
With time winding down in the second period, Lankinen blocked a shot from Ceci, but the rebound bounced to Granlund, who fired it past the goalie’s shoulder with just 25.9 seconds left, giving the Stars a 2-1 lead. It was Granlund’s first goal in 13 games.