"We came out a little slow tonight, but Bob was dialed in from the start," said Verhaeghe, referencing Bobrovsky's 17 saves in the first period. "He made huge saves for us all night long. He kept us in the game until we finally got our footing under us and started to play a little better."
Finding success on both sides of the special teams battle, the Panthers went 3-for-5 on the power play while also going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against Edmonton's' top-ranked unit. Since Dec. 29, Florida ranks second in the NHL with 31.4% success rate on the power play.
"Special teams on the road haven't been a strength of ours," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of the performance. "Tonight, the penalty killing was really good against the best power play in league. As for our power play, it's been growing and has been better."
In first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 27-8-5, the Panthers continue to make life tough on opposing goaltenders. Leading the league with 164 goals, they've scored at least five times in eight of their last 10 contests while compiling a 9-1-1 record during that torrid stretch.
Heading to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas next month, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team and ranks tied for second in the league in scoring with 54 points, including dishing out a league-leading 39 assists. Also piling up the points, five other Panthers have recorded at least 30 points: Aaron Ekblad (35), Sam Reinhart (34), Verhaeghe (33), Barkov (32) and Duclair (31).
In nine games in January, eight different Panthers have produced at least nine points.
"Everyone played really well tonight," Verhaeghe said after beating the Oilers.
Playing their first game at home since Dec. 14, the Canucks, who have played nine straight road games while having seven others postponed due to COVID-19, enter tonight's matchup sitting at 18-18-3 after beating the Capitals (4-2) and Predators (3-1) in their last two outings.
Last taking the ice in Nashville on Tuesday, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boester and Juho Lammikko all scored against the Predators, while Thatcher Demko made 31 saves in net.
"We have a lot of heart," said Vancouver head coach Bruce Boudreau, who has helped the team to a 10-3-1 record taking over behind the bench. "We've got a great goaltender. There's no doubt about it. He stopped two or three clean-cut breakaways tonight. He's a wall."
Unfortunately for the Canucks, they'll be without both of their top goaltenders against the Panthers as Demko and backup Jaroslav Halak are both in COVID protocols. Additionally, forwards Bo Horvat, Conor Garland and J.T. Miller are also in protocols and unavailable.
With three of their top-four scorers - Miller (39 points), Garland (24 points) and Horvat (23 points) out of the lineup - the Canucks will really have to lean on Quinn Hughes (31 points), Pettersson (20 points), Boeser (19 points) and Tanner Pearson (16 points) against Florida.
Last playing an NHL game in 2016-17, Spencer Martin, who has gone 5-0-2 with a .921 save percentage in seven AHL games this season, is expected to man the crease for Vancouver.
"Every team has gone through it to some degree, so we have to get through it," Boudreau said.
Facing off for the second time this season, Reinhart scored a pair of goals and Ekblad racked up three points to lift the Panthers to a 5-2 win over the Canucks at FLA Live Arena on Jan. 11.
