Vancouver Canucks: 3 keys to victory over the Florida Panthers
The Vancouver Canucks return to Rogers Arena after a mediocre road trip, in which they lost the first three games. Now, they face off against a Roberto Luongo-less Florida Panthers squad. H
As we bask in the afterglow of what was a great showing by both the young bucks and the trade deadline bait, it is with a heavy heart that I must remind Vancouver Canucks supporters of the blatantly obvious.
One game does not a season make.
This tired, but true anecdote has many meanings.
For starters, Erik Gudbranson actually looked pretty solid on a pairing with Alex Edler (and believe it or not the analytics backed that up). But alas, not even one of Gudbranson’s better showings this season can wash away the memories of him turning the puck over or being caught flat footed in the other games he has played.
Jake Virtanen looked great using his speed to score a beautiful breakaway goal, and generated other additional chances. But yet again, there have been countless other games where he has borrowed Harry Potter’s cloak and just disappeared into the night.
Even the team as a whole has shown that after a strong victory, they come out flat. Just look a couple of weeks ago where the Canucks handily beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-2, and then followed that effort with a stinker of a 4-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
My point is that we must not get overly excited. Its great the Canucks beat a top flight team like the Dallas Stars, but they need to be playing with this effort more consistently as opposed to once in a blue moon like they have been doing this season.
If they can do that (as well as added some of their more talented prospects like Elias Pettersson or Adam Gaudette to the lineup), the Canucks can be a playoff team again as soon as next season.
The Florida Panthers come into this game as winners of five of their last six games. They played a wild one against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, beating them 7-5.
The Panthers are lead by young guns Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, and Aleksander Barkov, who are 1, 2, and 3 in team scoring respectively.
In addition to great young players among the forward ranks, the Panthers defence corps is lead by two of the more promising young defenceman in the league in Aaron Ekblad and Mike Matheson.
With plenty of young talent on the roster and in the prospect ranks, the future of the Florida Panthers is looking very bright.
The Canucks and Panthers are up and coming teams, and maybe 2-3 years from now when they face each other, they’ll be near the top floor of the NHL standings.
But tonight, their matchup is that of the bottom-feeder variety.
Can the Canucks bring the same effort they did in the Dallas game? Will the Panthers continue to outscore their defensive mistakes? Will Luongo make a surprise return?
Here our tonight’s keys to victory!
Take Advantage of the Panther’s Goaltending Situation
The Panther’s have been in a precarious goaltending situation recently with both their starter and backup on the shelf.
More from The Canuck Way
- Which team won the Bo Horvat trade?
- What to expect from newcomers Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Räty
- Back to the future: How the skate uniforms became a regular Canucks’ feature night
- Canucks kick off 2023 with disappointing 6-2 loss to Islanders
- 2nd period penalty trouble sinks Canucks in 4-2 loss against Winnipeg
They have had to turn to third stringer Harri Sateri, who has performed admirably in their absence. Though he has performed well, his lack of experience should still be of concern to the Panthers.
Say if Roberto Luongo is the one that gets the start, the Canucks need to take advantage of the fact that he hasn’t played a game since early December.
Whoever starts, the Canucks need to take advantage of either situation and create as many chances as possible early in the game.
Shutdown the Panthers Young Stars
Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck may be the league’s best kept secrets. Both these players are absolute dynamite, yet they don’t have the notoriety of other young stars.
Even former 3rd overall pick Jonathan Huberdeau has been outstanding with 53 points in 53 games. All three are on pace for 70-plus point seasons, and all three are under the age of 25.
Let that sink in. Besides these three players, the rest of the roster is lackluster to say the least. After those three, only two other forwards have more than 20 points, and only one forward has more than nine goals.
If the Canucks can shutdown this trio, their chances of winning the game go up exponentially.
Continued Effort From the Canucks Young Players
Both Reid Boucher and Virtanen need to bring the same effort from the Dallas game to this game.
Boucher in particular played really well, taking the puck to the net and going to the dangerous areas. He has had great success in Utica this year, so hopefully he can be given more opportunity to replicate some of that success in the NHL.
Virtanen needs to continue to play to his strengths of rushing the puck and getting in hard on the forecheck. If he can find some open space when the Canucks are executing a breakout, he can be a really dangerous player.
Next: Vancouver Canucks top prospects of week 17
No one on this team can rush the puck up ice like he can. If he can learn to do this consistently, this will do wonders for his career and the Canucks.