Bichsel Brace Powers Stars to Franchise‑Record 9th Straight Win in Vancouver
Dallas Stars hammered the Vancouver Canucks 6–1 at Rogers Arena, scoring six unanswered goals after an early deficit to set a franchise record with their ninth straight victory. For Sportsphere24, this looked like a contender in full flow against a team stuck in reverse.
Canucks strike first, then disappear
Vancouver actually opened the scoring midway through the first period. Jake DeBrusk drove into the offensive zone and fired a shot off Jake Oettinger’s right pad, where Evander Kane crashed the crease and swept home the rebound from a sharp angle for his 11th of the season. At 7:57, the building was buzzing and the Canucks had the early jump they desperately needed.
Dallas answered before the intermission and never looked back. With 2:20 left in the first, Adam Erne tied it 1–1 by finishing a play started by Colin Blackwell, banging in a loose puck to swing momentum back toward the Stars. Even in a period where Vancouver held a slight shot edge, that equaliser foreshadowed the storm to come.
Bichsel and Robertson flip the game in the second
The second period belonged entirely to Dallas. At 8:31, rookie defenseman Lian Bichsel jumped into the slot, took a feed from Ilya Lyubushkin, and ripped a wrist shot over Nikita Tolopilo’s shoulder to give the Stars their first lead at 2–1. Less than 90 seconds later, the advantage doubled when Jason Robertson blasted a power‑play one‑timer—set up by Matt Duchene and Miro Heiskanen—to make it 3–1.
From there, Vancouver never recovered. Dallas out‑skated and out‑executed the Canucks at five‑on‑five, hemming them in their own zone and repeatedly forcing turnovers. The Canucks’ special teams slump continued as they went 0‑for‑2 on the power play and remained without a man‑advantage goal since January 27, now 0‑for‑13 in their last seven games.
Third‑period avalanche: three more for Dallas
Any hope of a Canucks comeback vanished early in the third. Just 1:33 into the period, Matt Duchene finished off a passing play from Sam Steel and Heiskanen to stretch the lead to 4–1. Four minutes later, Colin Blackwell picked off a pass in the neutral zone, skated in alone, and scored unassisted to make it 5–1 and trigger a wave of fans heading for the exits.
Bichsel added the exclamation point at 15:41, joining the rush and snapping home his second of the night from a pass by Mavrik Bourque, with Robertson picking up the secondary assist. The Swiss rookie finished with two goals and an assist, while Blackwell, Robertson, and Duchene each posted a goal and an assist in a complete team performance. Oettinger only needed 13 saves thanks to Dallas’ territorial dominance.
Records, streaks, and what’s next
The 6–1 victory pushed Dallas to 37–14–9 and set a new franchise record with nine straight wins, keeping them firmly in the race near the top of the Western Conference standings. Heiskanen quietly extended his point streak to six games, with nine assists across that stretch, underscoring how much offense is now flowing through the blue line as well. For Sportsphere24, this game looked like a blueprint: depth scoring, mobile defense, and relentless pressure that overwhelms opponents over 60 minutes.
Vancouver, now 18–35–7, dropped their sixth straight (0‑4‑2) and continue to slide, with defensive breakdowns and a powerless power play undoing any good work from Kane and a few other bright spots. Coach and players alike admitted afterward that they “had a decent first period” but couldn’t match Dallas’ pace or structure once the Stars settled in. If the Canucks are to avoid a completely lost season, fixing special teams and consistency has to be the starting point.