Florida @ Vancouver preview
Rogers Arena
Last Meeting ( Oct 21, 2023 ) Vancouver 5, Florida 3
On a night Brock Boeser netted his fifth career hat trick, the Vancouver Canucks served a perfect example of why they boast the league's best goal differential at plus-37.
Now, the Canucks, on a three-game winning streak, host the Florida Panthers on Thursday night as they try to beat them for the second time this season.
"Solid win," Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said after Tuesday's 4-1 victory over Tampa Bay. "We were a little rusty early, but settled in and the penalty kill was great. All four lines and six defense contributed and it was a good team effort."
The Canucks recovered from surrendering a Lightning goal just 85 seconds into the game, with Andrei Kuzmenko's power-play tally a few minutes later before Boeser continued his torrid goal-scoring pace.
Boeser is tied with Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews for the league lead with 21 goals and became only the sixth player in franchise history to reach the 20-goal mark before Game 30 of a season.
"Really awesome, especially after last season," said Boeser, who scored 18 goals in 2022-23. "That being said, if I focus on that too much, I feel I get away from my game. I have to continue to focus on what's giving me success. My main focus every day is working hard and helping my team win."
Not only are the Canucks the league's highest-scoring squad -- with J.T. Miller second in the points race, while Quinn Hughes is pacing defensemen -- but they are also fourth in goals-against per game thanks to No. 1 goaltender Thatcher Demko's return from injury woes.
The Panthers arrive in Vancouver after they received a valuable lesson about not being at their best in a 4-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, the second contest of a five-game road trip.
Florida trailed 1-0 five minutes into the third period but could not find an extra gear against the Kraken, who snapped an eight-game skid.
"We were a little tight back there," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "There's no doubt about it. We're not moving the puck or our feet particularly quick."
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak, but the Panthers remain on a 5-2-1 run and in the thick of the Atlantic Division title hunt.
That said, nobody on the squad can say they deserved to win.
"I think we were comfortable in a tight game, and then we got on the power play, it didn't go, and we got a little bit uncomfortable with it," Maurice said. "Even with that, we got a third of our shots blocked and a third of our shots missed the net. A big chunk of our offense just never got to their net."
A clash with a strong team like the Canucks will provide the Panthers with a reason to snap their game into place.
"We just have to get back to our ways," Florida forward Evan Rodrigues said. "Everyone knows this was not our best (in Seattle). We just have to hit the reset button and get back to our game."
Thursday night will also feature former Florida and Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo joining the Canucks' Ring of Honour.
--Field Level Media