The Canucks had a real chance to make something out of a brutal night on the schedule, and for 50 minutes in Florida, they looked like they might pull it off.
On game five of a six-game road trip through some of the NHL’s toughest Eastern Conference opponents, Vancouver had its moments. They were outplayed in the first period, sure, but they didn’t cough up an early goal, and they even jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the run of play. For long stretches after that, they didn’t look like a team getting overwhelmed.
Then the Panthers did what contending teams do. They kept coming. Brady Tkachuk’s shot was the difference-maker all night, and all three of his goals - including the overtime winner - came off it.
The Canucks skated off frustrated, but head coach Manny Malhotra will have plenty to point to when he talks to his group afterward. They had enough good stretches to believe they deserved more than a 3-2 overtime loss.
The game also turned on a sequence that left Vancouver fuming. Right before Tkachuk scored his first goal, he took a shift that should have landed him in the penalty box after a slash on a Canuck during the backcheck and then a late hit in the neutral zone. Instead, he stayed on the ice, and the Panthers kept rolling.
The Canucks may not be a great team, but they deserved better from the officials in that moment.
There was more to like than just the fight. After getting pushed around in front of their net early, Vancouver settled things down and cleaned up the dangerous area in front of Leevi Merilainen. That had been a trouble spot in other games this season, but not this time.
They also kept Florida off the power-play scoreboard and even did a better job than usual of cutting out cross-ice passes. Those are the kinds of details that matter, especially against a team built to punish mistakes.
Merilainen, meanwhile, got a chance to show why so many people around the league were excited about him as a prospect. The young Finn kept giving the Canucks a chance to hang around, and his performance fit with what the defence in front of him was able to do.
If Vancouver can keep getting nights like this from its blue line, it gives its goalies a real shot to steal games.
There was plenty packed into the third period, too, and Elias Pettersson’s reaction after he just missed what would have been Vancouver’s third goal said a lot. The frustration on his face was obvious. That was the kind of chance he still needs to turn into a game-changing moment.
It was the sort of emotion that has been too rare over the last two seasons, and it mattered because these Canucks need those small edges if they’re going to finish games like this instead of looking back at what got away.
The other Pettersson kept building his case, too. The defenceman scored again and looked confident doing it, and that kind of all-around impact is exactly what Vancouver wants more of from its young defenders.
Tom Willander also turned in another solid game alongside Jamie Oleksiak, another piece the Canucks can point to as something to build on.
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuk Is Fueling A Panthers Surge Fans Have To See
Brady Tkachuks early-season production for the Panthers has gone from quiet to impossible to ignore. After a slow start, he has caught fire with consecutive hat tricks in back-to-back games, and his latest burst has him leading Florida with six goals in eight games while the team works through its opening-month rhythm.
One of those three-goal nights came in overtime against Vancouver, a reminder of how quickly a hot streak can change the tone around a player and a lineup. Coach Paul Maurice has brushed off the sluggish start, pointing to the adjustment period that comes with new line combinations, and the Panthers now have a top-end scorer who suddenly looks fully in sync. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Just Gave Panthers Fans A Moment Worth Arguing About
Brady Tkachuk gave the Panthers exactly the kind of jolt they needed, turning a sluggish night into a statement win with his second straight hat trick in Floridas 3-2 overtime victory over the Canucks. The Panthers had to climb out of a two-goal hole just to get to extra time, but Tkachuks night carried the tone of the comeback and helped deliver the clubs first home win of the season.
The performance also put Tkachuk in rare company, making him the third player in Panthers history to post consecutive hat tricks. It was the first time the NHL had seen back-to-back natural hat tricks since 2024, which is the sort of odd, eye-catching footnote that will keep fans talking long after the final horn, even if the bigger question in Sunrise is how sustainable this kind of offensive surge really is. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk Is Giving The Panthers A Start Few Saw Coming
Brady Tkachuk has given the Panthers an early stretch of offense few around the league could have predicted, piling up natural hat tricks in consecutive games and putting himself in rare company along the way. One of those nights ended with an overtime winner in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the kind of finish that can change the feel of a road trip, a homestand, or even a teams mood in a hurry.
The run also adds another layer to a Panthers story already drawing plenty of attention, because this is not just about scoring volume but the timing and the company he has kept with it. He became the first NHL player since February 2024 to score hat tricks in back-to-back games, and his name now sits beside a small list of Panthers players who have done the same, giving Florida a jolt that looks even more unusual when you remember who was setting him up in the first one. [Read more 🡒]