Panthers shut out in consecutive games for first time in 12 years. Takeaways from Canucks loss
If looking for one play to sum up the Florida Panthers’ 4-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, look no further than what transpired midway through the second period.
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky left the crease to retrieve the puck and attempt to pass it to a teammate with the hopes of starting a breakout opportunity.
One problem: The puck landed right on the stick of Vancouver’s Dakota Joshua in the slot with the net vacated. Joshua buried the puck to increase the Canucks’ lead to three goals and further sink the Panthers in what could be considered one of their worst games of the season.
It was that type of night for the Panthers (17-10-2), and it puts Florida in a position it hasn’t experienced in a dozen years.
The loss on Thursday was the Panthers’ second consecutive shutout defeat after also losing 4-0 to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. It’s the first time since Oct. 18 and 20, 2011, that the Panthers have been shut out in consecutive games.
“I wouldn’t say we got outplayed,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said, “but at the same time, it’s 4-0. There’s no excuses.”
Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped all 36 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season and sixth of his seven-season NHL career.
For what it’s worth, the Panthers have only been shut out in three consecutive games one time before in franchise history: Nov. 25, 28 and 30, 2006.
They will try to avoid that when they continue this five-game road trip on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers.
“I think we’ve got a lot of work to do on the Florida Panthers front before we get to working on the pre-scout for the Oilers,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
For now, here are three takeaways from the game.
Turnovers and takeaways prove costly
Each of Vancouver’s first three goals came on turnovers and takeaways inside the Panthers’ defensive zone.
In the opening minutes of the first period, Conor Garland stripped Florida forward Ryan Lomberg at the blue line before flipping the puck to Andrei Kuzmenko, who weaved past Niko Mikkola and beat Bobrovsky to give the Canucks (20-9-1) a 1-0 lead.
Joshua then scored the next two Vancouver goals. He put the Canucks up 2-0 with 6:08 left in the first period with a backhanded shot after Teddy Blueger forced Oliver Ekman-Larsson to turn the puck over.
And then came Bobrovsky’s blunder midway through the second period, going out of his net to retrieve a puck and sending it straight to Joshua in the slot.
Brock Boeser scored on the power-play with 4:20 left in the second period to push Vancouver’s lead to 4-0.
Anthony Stolarz replaced Bobrovsky in net for the third period and stopped the one shot he faced over the final 20 minutes of the game.
Desperation attempts come up empty
After falling behind 4-0 after two periods, the Panthers got desperate in an attempt to break up the shutout.
Fifteen shots on goal.
Ten scoring chances (including eight high-danger chances).
Twenty-five total shot attempts.
Zero goals came from it.
It was the same outcome but in a different way when compared to their Tuesday loss to Seattle, when the Panthers put up 61 total chances but were more or less shut down in the third (eight shots on goal, seven scoring chances, only two high-danger chances).
“We’ve gotta find ways to score goals to win games,” center Kevin Stenlund said.
Key players missing
The Panthers’ lineup was noticeably different on Thursday in a few ways.
First, third-line center Anton Lundell did not play while dealing with an illness.
Second, fourth-line winger Jonah Gadjovich was a late scratch also due to illness. That forced Maurice to play with just 11 forwards and use seven defensemen for the first time this season.
And third, defenseman Aaron Ekblad did not play in the third period due to a lower-body injury.
This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 12:47 AM.
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