VANCOUVER – The Florida Panthers couldn’t find the back of the net for the second straight game in a 4-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday.
The Canucks improve to 20-9-1, while the Panthers now sit at 17-10-2.
“We did unusual things that we just don’t do,” Florida head coach Paul Maurice said. “You saw kind of the pinnacle on the 3-0 goal. We just weren’t right tonight. I think you have those games. I don’t think it’s related to the Seattle game. Prior to that, we’d won three in a row. We weren’t very good here tonight, but in a highly unusual way.”
With Jonah Gadjovich a late scratch due to an illness, Uvis Balinskis slotted into the lineup as the Panthers ran with 11 defenseman and seven forwards in Vancouver.
Panthers third-line center Anton Lundell also sat out the game due to an illness.
“We have a lot of good guys here, a lot of good players,” Florida center Kevin Stenlund said. “It just gives opportunities for other guys. We’ve got to step up more.”
Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring for the Canucks when maneuvered around a defender and beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a snipe from the slot to make it 1-0 at 4:03.
Extending Vancouver’s early advantage, Dakota Joshua followed up on his own rebound and lifted a shot into the twine with his backhand to make it 2-0 at 13:52.
In the final minute period, the Panthers nearly got on the board but were denied their first goal of the game when Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko sprawled out to rob captain Aleksander Barkov on a shot from the doorstep with a spectacular toe save.
Lighting the lamp a second time, Joshua capitalized on a mistake by the Panthers and pushed Vancouver’s lead to 3-0 in the second period when he intercepted a clearing attempt from Bobrovsky and fired the puck into the abandoned cage at 10:08.
“We were a bit sloppy today,” Stenlund said. “A couple bounces didn’t go our way.”
Later in the period, the Panthers suffered another blow and briefly lost their second-line center when Sam Bennett took a puck to the face in the offensive zone. Able to skate to the locker room under his own power, he thankfully returned to the ice later in the game.
Earning an extended 5-on-3 power play, the Canucks added to their lead when Brock Boeser tapped in his team-leading 22nd goal of the season to make it 4-0 at 15:41.
At the start of the third period, Anthony Stolarz relieved Bobrovsky.
Aaron Ekblad also did not return for the third period due to a lower-body injury.
“I don't even know if it's day-to-day,” Maurice said of Ekblad, a key piece on the team’s top-defensive pair. “We'll see how he is tomorrow. We think we got way ahead of it."
Despite not finding a goal, the Panthers led 15-1 in shots on goal in the third period.
At the other end, Demko finished with 36 saves for his third shutout of the season.
“The last two games, we obviously haven’t scored one goal,” Barkov said. “We’ve got to find a way. We’re putting enough pucks at the net. We have to find a way to battle for those second, third and even fourth chances.”
THEY SAID IT
“We have a handful of things we do well, none of which you got to see tonight. We’ll try to apply that better in Edmonton.” – Paul Maurice
“It’s going to happen. It’s a long season. I feel like we’ve just got to stick with it and not get too frustrated. At the same time, we have to find a way to score goals to win games.” – Kevin Stenlund
“They’re a fast team. They create plays. They were trying to create plays every shift. I wouldn’t say we got outplayed, but at the same time it’s 4-0. There’s no excuses. We just have to defend a little better and be a little better offensively.” – Aleksander Barkov
CATS STATS
- The Panthers led 17-10 in high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5.
- Florida controlled 77.78% of shot attempts when Oliver Ekman-Larsson was on the ice at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
- The Panthers have lost back-to-back games for just the third time this season.
- Steven Lorentz registered a team-high six hits.
- Gustav Forsling blocked a team-high four shots on goal.
- Eleven different Panthers recorded multiple shots on goal.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Looking to pick up some points, the Panthers will continue their trek through Canada with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
