Florida Panthers keep their win streak alive, defeat Canucks 3-1

After a thrilling win against the Red Wings on Saturday, the Florida Panthers were aiming for their fourth straight victory, squaring off against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Panthers started the game off perfectly, pinning the Canucks in their own zone for quite some time. All four lines were using the cycle to their advantage, creating a number of scoring chances from it. Unfortunately, with Jacob Markstrom standing tall in-goal, the Cats were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

On the other hand, the Canucks received some chances of their own, creating havoc in front of Florida’s goal. Like Markstrom, Harri Sateri was also standing strong in-goal, making a couple of key saves in the process. With both net minders taking over this game, either side was unable to break the deadlock.

But, Florida received the best chance of the period when Vinnie Trocheck drew a hooking call which came from Alex Edler. Like that, with just under seven minutes left in the opening frame, the Panthers were headed to the man advantage.

On the power play, Denis Malgin sent a pass from the point to Jamie McGinn, where McGinn turned around and backhanded a pass into the slot. Once the puck reached the slot, accidentally, Christ Tanev cleared the puck into his own net, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Because McGinn was last to touch the puck, he was credited for the goal:

The Cats received another great power play opportunity when Alex Edler was called for delay of game. Unluckily, Florida wasn’t able to cash in with under two minutes remaining. The Panthers would head into the locker room up by a goal, having about 14 seconds carry over from their power play which would resume to start the second.

Starting the second off with a 14 second power play, the Panthers generated some traffic in front of Markstrom early on, but couldn’t execute.

While the Canucks were shorthanded killing Baertschi’s penalty (holding), Vancouver took advantage of Michael Matheson’s giveaway at center ice, rushing down to Florida’s end and scoring.

It was Markus Granlund who stripped Matheson of the puck, rushing down the other way shorthanded. Needless to say, Granlund snapped a shot low blocker side, evening the game at one apiece:

Although, before the second frame ended with 4 minutes to spare, the Cats regained their lead, courtesy of Aleksander Barkov. Mark Pysyk sprung Barkov on a breakaway with a beautiful pass, where Barkov squeaked a backhand shot past Markstrom and in:

Barkov’s goal would send his team into the locker room, up by a goal like before. Like the first, the second period was all Florida in domination, as the Canucks were struggling to maintain the Panthers’ offense.

The third period was pretty even in attack by both teams, as the Canucks were looking for an early equalizer. Sateri’s solid play however, kept the score line at 2-1 in favor for Florida throughout the majority of the third.

Both the Panthers and Canucks each exchanged some wonderful chances at both ends of the rink, only to find them denied by both goaltenders. Both net minders saw a lot of rubber tonight, forced to make key consecutive saves repeatedly.

But despite all the effort the Canucks were showing later in the third, none of it mattered as the Cats would add a third goal through Aleksander Barkov. Barkov raced down the ice to chase Trocheck’s clearance from their own zone, battling in a foot race against Alex Edler. Without any hesitation, Barky blew by Edler leaving him in his dust, slotting the puck into the empty net:

Thanks to Aleksander Barkov’s two goals, as well as Sateri’s spectacular play, the Florida Panthers would go on to win their fourth straight against the Vancouver Canucks, by a score of 3-1.

In conclusion, the Florida Panthers played a remarkable game through all three periods, showing consistency throughout. With the recent help of Harri Sateri in-goal, the Cats have banked on greater results recently. Your Panthers are back in action on Friday, February 9th @7:30pm against the Los Angeles Kings!