Panthers’ two-game winning streak ends with 5-3 loss to Vancouver
The Panthers kept doing those things you can’t do Saturday night, things that make coaches weep and longtime fans gnash their teeth, and saw their two-game winning streak end in a 5-3 loss to Vancouver at Amerant Bank Arena.
Two third-period goals by Sam Reinhart almost salvaged the night for the Panthers. But, those goals during an overwhelming first 12 minutes of the third period by the Panthers could counter basic examples of not-getting-it-done:
▪ Both Vancouver power play goals, by Vancouver defensemen Quinn Hughes in the first period and Carson Soucy in the second period, followed multiple failed clears by the Panthers.
“They create an awful lot of lanes, but neither one was particularly dangerous if the clear happens,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Three real clear (clear chances) on the first one and you know that’s going to bite you. The second one, too, we touched that puck twice.”
▪ The Panthers lost too many one-on-one or, more egregiously, one-on-two battles, the last being on the game-winning goal by Andrei Kuzmenko. Vancouver’s Phillip Di Giuseppe outworked Panthers defensemen Gustav Forsling and Oliver Ekman-Larsson behind the Panthers net and found Kuzmenko slicing into the right circle. What would’ve been a tough save for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky became impossible when center Steven Lorentz appeared to collide with him.
Kuzmenko fired past the spilled Lorentz and Bobrovsky into the open net for a 4-3, Canucks lead. After a goal and an assist in Vancouver’s first four games, Kuzmenko had that Saturday night.
An empty-net goal by Brock Boeser ended the scoring.
“I think Vancouver played a really hard game, a smart game and were really physical,” Maurice said.
Down 3-1 after Vancouver owned the second period in goals (2-0), shots (12-6) and offensive zone time, the Panthers made the predictable desperation push early in the third period. Digging deep paid off in goal gold when Rodrigues worked his way free for a 55-foot wrister that Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith saved, but Reinhart potted the rebound.
Despite a Canucks power play 17 seconds after Reinhart cut the Vancouver lead to 3-2, the Panthers outshot Vancouver 14-3 during the first 11:10 of the third period. Reinhart tied it when Rodrigues, cutting to the right behind the net, fed back past the left post to Reinhart. Tie score, 5:59 left.
“I think we were just trying to get pucks deep, get on the forecheck,” Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura said.
The Panthers came into Saturday night’s home game with a two-game winning streak, making no lineup changes. Vancouver came into Sunrise with a two-game losing streak and coach Rick Tocchet doing the Soul Train Scramble on his forward lines and hoping to get left wing Kuzmenko going.
READ MORE: When Sam Bennett should be back and other Panthers-Canucks pregame notes
Though the Panthers kept play in the Canucks zone most of the first 10 minutes and had seven of the game’s first nine shots, Vancouver moved the scoreboard first.
Mahura earned two minutes of timeout for interference on Conor Garland as the Canucks tried to generate a forecheck. While Mahura sat, Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes whistled a 50-foot wrister past Bobrovsky and Elias Pettersson’s screen.
“I took that first penalty that didn’t need to be done and they scored on it,” Mahura said.
That 1-0 lead lasted 20 seconds. Panthers captain Alexander Barkov cruised past Tyler Myers, who looked twice his 33 years of age, got stopped on the deke-and-backhand by DeSmith and got lucky when Vancouver defenseman Ian Cole’s trailing stick knocked the rebound home.
Earlier Saturday, Tocchet called out left wing Andrei Kuzmenko’s work ethic among the reasons Kuzmenko, who had 39 goals and 35 assists last season, came into Saturday night’s game with one goal and one assist in four games.
But, it was Kuzmenko who drew a penalty on Ekman-Larsson while in front of the net that led to Soucy’s power play goal. After failed clears by Niko Mikkola and Kevin Stenlund, Garland got the puck off the boards to Soucy, who sashayed between the circles and beat Bobrovsky stick side.
On the next shift, Kuzmenko lost Mikkola behind the net, Pettersson slid open in the left circle, Kuzmenko pass, Petterson shot and the Panthers were down 3-1.
Maurice said between inadequate physical play and not moving the puck well, “It got to be a loose neutral zone game, which is a place we’ve been strong in and we weren’t particuarly good there.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 9:50 PM.
