He’s with a different team now, but Gibson continues to haunt Canucks’ snipers

Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) and Axel Sandin-Pellikka (44) celebrate after defeating the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

VANCOUVER — John Gibson is in a new uniform this season. But he’s still a Canuck-killer.

On Monday, in his first game at Rogers Arena since joining the Detroit Red Wings following an off-season trade from the Anaheim Ducks, Gibson continued his dominance. Facing a season-high 39 shots, Gibson stopped them all to record his first shutout with his new team and his first since a 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Jan. 4, 2023.

“It was good,” said the 32-year-old of his 25th career clean sheet. “Any time you can get a shutout, it’s nice.”

“He was unbelievable,” said Detroit rookie defenceman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who chipped in two assists in the 4-0 win. “It felt like no one could score on him and he had some really huge saves. Incredible. Not much else to say.”

More than 10 years ago, on April 7, 2014, a 20-year-old Gibson made 18 saves to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-0 win over the Canucks in his NHL debut at Rogers Arena.

Monday night, he improved to 14-5-2 all-time against the Canucks, with a .932 save percentage against Vancouver. Along the way, he frustrated an opponent that sits 31st overall in the NHL standings. In their last six games, the Canucks are 1-4-1, having scored just nine goals, and have been blanked on the power play.

During a second period man advantage on Monday, Gibson stoned Jake DeBrusk by getting a pad on what looked to be a sure goal.

“I just tried to get a quick up, and it’s a great save by him,” DeBrusk said. “I’ve got to finish that. I couldn’t believe it. And there’s a couple other ones where it just isn’t going my way.”

Asked why Vancouver brings out the best in him, Gibson couldn’t put his finger on a reason.

“I’ve been asked that a few times,” he said. “I really don’t know but I don’t take it for granted. I feel very fortunate to play here so many times and have some success, and hopefully I can keep it going.”

While the personal achievements are nice, the two points for the win might be the most important part of Gibson’s contribution on Monday. With the standings tightly packed in the Eastern Conference, and especially the Atlantic Division, the win allowed the Red Wings to leapfrog from outside the playoff picture all the way to top spot in their division.

“I thought he played well from Minute 1 to Minute 60,” said Red Wings coach Todd McLellan. “It took us a while to get our legs and get going, and he saved our bacon in the first. I thought the second, we started to settle down a little bit, and then made a few mistakes in the third but he was there for us.”

For his goalie partner’s first shutout with Detroit, Cam Talbot made sure to collect the puck from the ice after the final buzzer sounded.

“It was cool,” Gibson said. “I’m not much of a milestone guy but I think when I’m all done and can look back on it, a cool keepsake and something I can look back on.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.

Carol Schram, The Canadian Press