Florida @ Vancouver preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 13, 2019 ) Florida 1, Vancouver 5

The Vancouver Canucks have had a few days to think about coughing up a four-goal lead last time out and look to wash the memory away for good when they host the surging Florida Panthers on Monday. The Canucks gave up a goal with one second left in the second period and three unanswered tallies in the third before dropping a 6-5 decision in a shootout against Washington on Friday for only their second loss in eight games.

“That’s not good enough,” Vancouver captain Bo Horvat told reporters. “Going in with a four-goal lead, 21 minutes left, we’ve got to be able to hold those. We’ve got to be a lot better than that in the third. ... At times, I think guys - including myself - were trying to make plays out of nothing and not getting the pucks in deep and simplifying our game.” The Canucks won both meetings last season with the Panthers, who have earned at least one point in eight straight games overall after pulling away from Edmonton for a 6-2 triumph on Sunday. Veteran Brian Boyle scored his first goal in his third game since signing as a free agent and added an assist later in the contest as Florida improved to 4-0-4 during a run that includes three shootout defeats. “We’re not thinking about it too much,” Panthers center Noel Acciari told reporters of the point streak. “We just want to play our game and continue what we’ve accomplished. We just want to keep it going on this road trip.”

TV: 10 p.m. ET, FS Florida, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver)

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (5-2-4): Captain Aleksander Barkov has yet to score a goal of the season, but he continues to pile up the assists as he notched his seventh in three games Sunday to remained tied with Jonathan Huberdeau (five goals) for the team lead with 13 points. Evgenii Dadonov recorded his club-best sixth goal in the win at Edmonton and Brett Connolly notched two assists to tie him with nine points. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves Sunday for his fourth win and could be rested in favor of backup Samuel Montembeault (1-0-1, .933 save percentage) on Monday.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (6-3-1): Special teams have played a big role in the solid start for Vancouver as the penalty kill came into Sunday third in the league (88.9 percent) while the power play has converted four times in the last three games. Horvat has scored four of his team-leading five goals with the man advantage and has registered six points in his last three contests while offseason acquisition J.T. Miller (99 career goals) tops the team with 11 points. Last season’s Calder Trophy winner, Elias Pettersson has collected three goals and a team-high eight assists in the early going, with five of the latter coming on the power play.

OVERTIME

1. Panthers D Anton Stralman has recorded four assists in his first season with the club and is one shy of 200 for his career.

2. Vancouver G Jacob Markstrom, who began his career with the Panthers, is 4-0-1 in his last five starts but gave up five goals on Friday.

3. Florida acquired Jack Rodewald from Ottawa for the rights to fellow RW Chris Wilkie on Sunday.

PREDICTION: Canucks 4, Panthers 3