The Odd Canuck Games

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The Odd Games

Over the years, the Canucks have played a handful of mid-season exhibition games. These games did not count in the standings, but provided a novelty for the fans. In addition, the NHL experiminted with a concept known as neutral site games. These games were played in cities that did not have an NHL team and counted in the standings. Finally, the Canucks played a couple of regular season games in Tokyo as a promotion for the Olympics. All of these are listed below.

Exhibition Games

Seas.	Date	Result	Comments
77-78	Dec.28	Spartak 0 Vancouver 2	Curt Ridley records the shutout while Rick Blight scores both goals for the Canucks.
79-80	Dec.26	Dynamo 2 Vancouver 6	Brad Smith and Stan Smyl each score a pair of goals. Curt Ridley again records the win against the Soviet team.
88-89	Dec.30	Dynamo Riga 1 Vancouver 6	Brian Bradley scores twice and adds an assist. Jim Sandlak also has a three point night.
89-90	Dec.29	Red Army 6 Vancouver 0	The Canucks, resting some of their regulars, finally play the top Soviet team with predictable results. After the game, one of the Soviet players -- unfamiliar with the custom of the three star selection -- is told to skate out onto the ice. He skates an entire lap of the rink to the cheers of the Coliseum faithful.
90-91	Jan.13	USSR 4 Vancouver 3	Gerald Diduck plays his first game as a Canuck after being obtained January 12.
91-92	Nov.24	Olympic Team 5 Vancouver 2	In preparation for the Olympics, the Canadian team plays every Canadian NHL team, while the American team plays every American NHL team. The Canucks rest several regulars en route to the loss.

Neutral Site Games

Seas.	Date	Result	Site	Comments
92-93	Mar.1	Buffalo 2 Vancouver 5	Hamilton	Hamilton was home to the Canucks' farm team at the time. Pavel Bure becomes the first Canuck to score 50 goals in a season during this game.
	Mar.11	Minnesota 4 Vancouver 3	Saskatoon	Jiri Slegr, Trevor Linden and Robert Kron score in a losing cause.
93-94	Dec.23	Calgary 3 Vancouver 4	Saskatoon	Pavel Bure scores twice and adds an assist. Cliff Ronning gets the winner in the third. Kay Whitmore gets the win in goal.
	Jan.24	Edmonton 4 Vancouver 5	Saskatoon	Pavel Bure scores three goals, including the overtime winner. Jimmy Carson is forced to leave the game after the lineup card is filled out incorrectly.
97-98	Oct.4	Anaheim 2 Vancouver 3	Tokyo	Although not technically a "neutral site" game, this game kind of falls into that category. The game is often recorded as being played on October 3. Because of the time change, the game played at noon on October 4 is seen at 8:00pm on October 3 in Vancouver. During the trip to Japan, Trevor Linden turns his captaincy over to Mark Messier. Pavel Bure gets the winning goal, while Markus Naslund gets two assists.
	Oct.5	Anaheim 3 Vancouver 2	Tokyo	The game is played in the same "rink" as the day before and problems with the ice cause some delays. Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden score in a losing cause.