Brady Tkachuk took over when it mattered most, and the Vancouver Canucks were left with another one-goal loss to absorb.
Vancouver carried a lead for most of the night in Sunrise, but the Florida Panthers erased it late and pulled out a 3-2 overtime win. The result pushed the Canucks’ losing streak to six games, even though they got goals from Liam Öhgren and defenceman Elias Pettersson and another strong night in net from Leevi Meriläinen, who stopped 36 of 39 shots.
The Canucks also got a pair of lineup boosts. Filip Chytil made his return after missing the start of the 2026-27 season with an injury suffered in his first pre-season game of the year, and he wasted little time getting involved.
Skating between Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser, he picked up an assist, logged 18:30 of ice time - third among Vancouver forwards - and even took one shift on the penalty kill. His setup for Pettersson’s goal came on a smooth backward pass, and it also marked his first point in 364 days.
Victor Mancini was the other new face in the lineup, and he handled his 13:30 well in a third-pair role with Zeev Buium. He stood out in the second period with a well-timed hit to stop Brady Tkachuk’s path to the net and later showed some puck-moving touch by slipping past two Florida players and helping Vancouver exit its zone. Mancini also spent time on the penalty kill.
Vancouver struck first, and for once that mattered. It was just the fourth time this season the Canucks opened the scoring, and Öhgren finished the play with a strong shot after Linus Karlsson did the heavy lifting along the boards. Karlsson’s work in the corner helped create the chance, and Öhgren buried his second goal of the season.
The first period belonged to Vancouver on the scoreboard. Pettersson made it 2-0 when Chytil and Brock Boeser helped set it up, and the Canucks spent much of the middle frame protecting that cushion. Their defensive structure held up well enough to keep Florida from piling up chances, and by the end of the second period the Panthers had only one high-danger scoring chance while trailing 9-4 in shots for the period.
Vancouver nearly had a chance to add to the lead in the second. Jonathan Lekkerimäki found Elias Pettersson with space ahead of him and a path toward Florida goaltender Akira Schmid, but referee Francois St. Laurent collided with Pettersson on the play and sent him to the ice before he could finish the rush.
The game started tilting in Florida’s favor when the Canucks took their third power play. The Panthers intercepted the puck, controlled play in Vancouver’s zone with the Canucks’ top unit on the ice, and turned that pressure into a sequence that ended with Brady Tkachuk scoring his fourth goal of the season.
Then came the frantic finish. Vancouver survived a long 6-on-5 stretch that featured more than 1:30 shifts for Chytil, Boeser, and defenceman Pettersson, and it looked like regulation might end with a win. Instead, with less than 12 seconds left, Tkachuk tied it for Florida.
Overtime swung fully the Panthers’ way. Vancouver couldn’t string together clean puck control once the puck landed on their sticks, and Florida kept generating better looks with extended time in the Canucks’ zone.
Halfway through the extra period, Tkachuk scored again, cutting in on a tired Vancouver group and finishing the winner. It was his third goal of the game and sixth over the past two games.
There were a few other numbers that stood out from the night. Vancouver finished with a 49.2% faceoff win rate, and Meriläinen posted an in-game save percentage above .920 for the fourth time this season.
Now the Canucks turn quickly to their final chance on this trip. They have dropped all five games on their current east-coast road swing, and next up is Saturday’s matinee against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 1:00 pm PT.
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Aatu Rty was the last remaining piece in the picture, and his departure closed the loop on a transaction that had lingered in the background for more than a year. For the Canucks, it is a reminder of how quickly one franchise-altering trade can keep echoing through the roster, even after the original headline has long since faded. [Read more 🡒]