Vancouver Canucks Beat Panthers: 10 Thoughts

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime and there is a lot to talk about.

What. A. Game. The Vancouver Canucks came back from a 2-0 deficit and won it all in overtime. Then there was a bench-clearing brawl. It was awesome.

Our thoughts on the game.

1. Streak Breakers

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 3-2. That is already impressive, considering that Florida currently leads the Atlantic Division ahead of teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. But there was also a streak.

The Panthers had won 12 consecutive games going into last night’s match-up. That’s right — 12. They broke a record for longest winning streaks following a season where a team failed to make the playoffs, previously held by the by the 1926-27 Montreal Canadiens and 2009-10 Ottawa Senators. Let’s be honest here, that’s pretty amazing.

In fact, it was so amazing that the NBA’s Miami Heat tweeted at the Panthers:

The Heat finally realized that hockey is way cooler than basketball. It was about time.

With that win, the Canucks became the first NHL team to end win streaks of nine or more games of two opponents before February 1st of a season.

But wait, did I say a streak? I obviously meant two streaks.

Former Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo had won nine straight starts. Sorry, but breaking streaks is fun.

Next: Markstrom vs Luongo

2. Markstrom vs Luongo

Speaking of Luongo, the match-up of him versus Jacob Markstrom was a great one. It was Vancouver’s goaltender of the past against their goaltender of the future — and present, if you will. Who knows what will happen with Ryan Miller back on the ice, but Markstrom definitely deserves to get at least an equal amount of starts.

Markstrom made 26 saves on 28 shots, 11 in the third period. It was Markstrom who carried the Canucks into overtime, paving the way for Daniel Sedin to win it.

Luongo had 27 saves on 30 shots — not as great, but still decent. He made a few outstanding saves, carrying the Panthers into overtime like Markstrom did for the Canucks.

Markstrom and Luongo both had outstanding performances — but to summarize it, let’s look at a tweet sent out by Luongo himself:

Yup, that sums it up.

When the Panthers and Canucks traded their goaltenders for one another, both teams wanted to get better. The way it looks, both might have succeeded. Then again, I’d take Lu back any day.

Next: Soft Twins? Not in Van City

3. Soft Twins? Not in Van City

Ever since the Sedins came into the league, people have called them soft. Is it because they are Swedish twins and nobody would have hockey players in mind when talking about Swedish twins? (Let me remind you of a great Sedin NHL commercial from 2007)

Whatever it is, Henrik and Daniel are proving these people wrong more than ever. Just a few games ago, Daniel took a puck to the face, left the game for less than 10 minutes, and returned to score a goal in that same period. This time around, it was a little bit more than that.

The twins kind of started a bench-clearing brawl.

I’ll admit, it doesn’t really look like the Sedins had anything to do with it. Derek Dorsett just went up to the Panthers backup and punched him in the face — a regular thing to do for Dorsett. So where do the Sedins come in?

Well, apparently there was a lot of chirping going on and some of it was stuff that shouldn’t be said in a hockey game — or anywhere for that matter. Apparently one of those things was Thornton calling Henrik a “lowlife”. Which is just pathetic if you ask me.  Henrik went over to the Florida bench right after the game-winning goal and hell broke loose from there. It was — obviously — Dorsett who went in to start a fight, but the Sedins appear to have been the primary source of trouble.

Enough “Sedin sisters” talk. Henrik and Daniel are some of the best players in the league and they are just as tough as any other player out there.

Next: Record Breaker Daniel

4. Record Breaker Daniel

Okay, the headline is a lie. Daniel hasn’t broken a record yet. However, he tied Markus Naslund’s franchise goal record at 346 and will get a chance to break that record as soon as next game (at Capitals, Jan 14th, 2016).

Top-five goal scorers in Canucks history:

1. Markus Naslund 346
2. Daniel Sedin 346
3. Trevor Linden 318
4. Stan Smyl 262
5. Pavel Bure 254

In points, however, Daniel is already far ahead of Naslund. As of today, he has 890 points in 1,061 games, trailing only his brother Henrik, who has 922 points in 1,092 contests. Naslund sits in third place in that ranking with “only” 756 points in 884 games.

Daniel’s game-winning goal against Florida marked his 72nd. That’s right, his 72nd. Naslund only had 49, Henrik is in third place with 34.

Daniel now has 19 goals and 21 assists in 43 games this season and he does not seem to have a decline in his plans.

Next: Virtanen is back

5. Virtanen is back

“Goat-medal” winner Jake Virtanen is proving his haters wrong. The rookie is back, and his goal tied the game at 2-2.

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Virtanen played on a line with newly acquired Emerson Etem and centre Linden Vey. What can I say? It’s a great line! The line brings a great amount of speed to the lineup, especially when you are used to watching the Sedins. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t as slow as many say, but they play a very calm style, seldom using their speed.

So, back to Virtanen. The 19-year-old rookie came back from the World Juniors, after losing the quarter-final against Finland “single-handedly.” I feel like Jeremy Walsh missing a 27-yard field goal for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Wild Card Round match-up against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday is a great comparison. Walsh made the final mistake, but he also scored every single one of the Vikings’ nine points that game and a lot else went wrong for the team that night. Virtanen may not have scored every goal for Canada before taking a double-minor that would result in game-winning goal, but that was not the only reason why Canada lost — a lot went wrong for the team that night.

So, it looks like Virtanen might be back. He had a great game against Florida and scored his second goal of the season. Let’s wait and see what happens over the next few games, but I certainly wish Virtanen some success. He’s a good guy.

David Joun had a few thoughts of his own. Just continue to slide through. 

Next: Etem is Good

2. Burrows is a Leader

Did you see that scrum? Did you expect Burrows, the chirper and the big-time “under-your-skin” player to rough it up after the game? Well you thought wrong, and I did too.

Maybe it is the Patrick O’Sullivan incident, but Burrows was holding back and was one of the first to call the kids to the dressing room in case they got caught. Kudos to Brandon Prust and Derek Dorsett for taking on half a dozen Panthers.

But, to be honest, we always knew about Burrows’ leadership. He gets under the opponents’ skin regularly, just like so many other NHL players do. But that has nothing to do with what he does for the Canucks.

Burrows is a leader. And he will be as long as he plays in Vancouver.

Next: Markstrom Puck Defence=?

3. Markstrom+Puck+Defence=?

Dear Vancouver defence, you have to learn how to position yourselves when your netminder is behind the net with the puck. Take the low boards and the corners, and don’t run into his path.

On that note, forwards, just because the defence is looking out-of-sync, don’t run into the crease and behind the goal line. Voila, goal in the opening minutes of the game.

As a goalie myself, I know it sucks when you have two defenders closing in on you while a forechecker (or two, in the Canucks’ case) comes right at you behind the net.

Defencemen shouldn’t do the same thing a forechecker does. They need to read the play, spread out along the boards and make sure the forecheckers don’t get the puck. If that is done properly, goals like Florida’s 1-0 don’t happen.

Next: Hungry on the Boards

4. Hungry on the Boards

The Canucks were dominated by Florida on the boards. Too weak, too slow to move the puck out, if you ask me.

But also, what is with all these Canucks waiting for the puck to roll around the boards? They literally glide away from the puck, expecting the puck to accelerate onto their stick. And Jaromir Jagr comes and picks a pocket, to Jonathan Huberdeau, to Aleksander Barkov for the goal.

You know, Jagr is close to celebrating his 70th birthday — he shouldn’t be faster than you at any point during a game. Play hard at the boards and go get the puck — it sure won’t come get you.

The Canucks got two goals against, also thanks to Markstrom, but those two didn’t need to happen. Board play looked like a big area of weakness against the Panthers.

Next: Playing up to the Occasion

5. Playing up to the Occasion

I think the Canucks might do well in the playoffs. Provided that they get there.

The Canucks played streak breaker the second time, against the Montreal Canadiens and their nine-game unbeaten streak earlier in the year, and now the Panthers’ 12-game winning streak.

They are also feeding off the emotion of the game and the crowd. In feisty home returns for Eddie Lack and Roberto Luongo, the Canucks were able to ruin their homecomings for two points each game. When Kevin Bieksa visited as an Anaheim Duck, the Canucks held on for a loser’s point.

Next: Week 15 Outlook, Predictions

Playing to the occasion and upping the game on these occasions gives us hope. The Canucks could fly high come playoffs, and more immediately, against the mighty Washington Capitals this week.