Five years ago today, the Vancouver Canucks embarked on their first playoff (plus play-in) run in five years. Granted, this playoff series took place without the help of home-ice advantage and with extensive COVID-19 procedures in place — but it was still a playoff series nonetheless. Let’s take a look back at the 2020 Bubble Playoffs and how the Canucks performed during them.
The Bubble Playoffs were the first taste of playoff action that the majority of the Canucks’ young core had been exposed to at the time. Former Canucks captain Bo Horvat had only played in six postseason games back in 2015. Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and Thatcher Demko had no playoff experience. Prior to this run, J.T. Miller had 61 playoff games under his belt, while veterans and career Canucks (at the time) Chris Tanev and Alex Edler had 16 and 65 respectively (both of which included games played during the 2011 Stanley Cup run).
Because of the league-wide shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, no NHL teams were able to finish their regular season. As a result, the league introduced a play-in tournament that allowed teams to clinch their spot in the playoffs by beating another competitor in a best-of-five series. The top-four teams in each conference were automatically guaranteed a playoff spot, though they still had to take part in a round-robin tournament that would later determine playoff seeding. Vancouver finished their season seventh in the Western Conference with 78 points in 69 games, placing them in the play-in group. To officially qualify for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they had to beat the Minnesota Wild in five games.
Vancouver got off to a poor start to their bubble playoff run, surrendering two power play goals to the Wild in what ultimately resulted in a 3–0 loss. Micheal Ferland and Marcus Foligno kicked the series off with a fight a little over a minute into the game. A little over a minute later, Edler took a tripping penalty that sent the Wild onto the power play, where Kevin Fiala captialized on the opportunity. The Canucks took two more penalties before the end of the first period, one on Tyler Myers for cross-checking, and one on the bench for too many men.
Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:
Vancouver Canucks Podcast Rundown: Hockey, Actually, Episode 3
Vancouver Canucks 2025–26 Player Preview: Center Elias Pettersson
Vancouver Canucks 2025–26 Season Series Preview: St. Louis Blues
The Canucks’ second penalty didn’t come until halfway through the second period, when Tanner Pearson slashed Carson Soucy, sending Minnesota on the power play once again. This time, it was Jared Spurgeon who scored for the Wild. Spurgeon also got an empty-net goal near the end of the game to seal the deal for Minnesota, who left the game with a 1–0 lead in the series. By the end of the game, Vancouver had taken six penalties as well as Ferland’s fighting major and a game misconduct for Antoine Roussel.
This game’s result was not encouraging for Canucks fans. Minnesota goaltender Alex Stalock had stopped all 28 of Vancouver’s shots on net, with Horvat and Tyler Toffoli being held to none. The Canucks were not alone in their misery, however, as both the Nashville Predators and the Toronto Maple Leafs also lost their series-opening games on the same day.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
