Paul Cotter scored in Vancouver’s 3–2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 4, 2026, while Marco Rossi and Kevin Lankinen recorded standout efforts.
The Story
The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Vancouver Canucks 3–2 on Sunday night, Oct. 4, 2026, at Rogers Arena, with Paul Cotter scoring for Vancouver in a game that left the home team unable to avoid the defeat.
Cotter extended a hot start to the 2026–27 season by scoring again. His goal tied him with Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard and Utah Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz for the most throughout the entire NHL, and it also tied him with Elias Pettersson for the most overall points on Vancouver at six.
In addition to his fourth goal in the past four games, Cotter logged 18:46 of ice time, recorded two shots, one block and one hit, and went 8-of-10 on draws.
Marco Rossi did not finish on the scoresheet against Vegas, but he posted a heavy minutes role, playing 18:30, including time on both Pettersson and Cotter’s wings at different points in the game. Despite Vancouver’s five penalty kills, the centre saw no shorthanded minutes.
Rossi led the Canucks with four hits and was one of the few players described as not faring poorly in advanced-chance metrics, producing three scoring chances for compared with one allowed. When Vancouver pulled the goaltender late and Vegas regained the puck in the Canucks’ zone, Rossi slid into the crease to prepare to block shots.
In goal, Kevin Lankinen rebounded after a difficult Thursday in which he allowed eight goals in a 9–7 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Against Vegas, he faced 12 shots in the first period and stopped them all, and he finished with 25 saves on 28 shots.
The goaltending effort came while Vancouver was shorthanded for nearly eight minutes. Lankinen stopped all but one of the eight shots Vegas took while Vancouver was on the penalty kill.
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