There were some high highs and low lows for Florida as they fell to 2-3-0 on the young season

The Florida Panthers came out firing on all cylinders on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

They also finished the game incredibly strong, playing perhaps the team’s best third period of the season, but alas, it wasn’t enough to overtime Florida’s missteps, particularly those that took place in their own zone.

Ultimately the Cats dropped their third of five games so far this season, clawing back from a two-goal third period deficit but ultimately falling to the visiting Canucks by a final score of 5-3.

There were several things that stood out from Florida’s effort, but here are the three biggest takeaways:

Struggling with 1-on-1 battles

Losing 1-on-1 battles was an issue against Vancouver, and that’s something the Panthers must be better at if they’re going to find success. They are a team that thrives on going into the dirty areas and coming away with puck possession, so to lose those battles…

“That's a big part of what we do,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said after the game. “We didn't kill the plays we needed to win during the second period in the offensive zone, but it was more the D-zone pucks that we didn't pull off and get out. That was a bit of a challenge.”

Added Panthers forward Sam Reinhart: “I think they were heavier in the battle. It wasn't that we weren't moving, I thought we were moving our feet, it's just in the battle they were winning the vast majority of them.”

Sloppy in their own zone

Between turnovers, missed assignments and a handful of apparent lapses in judgement, Florida’s play in their own end left a lot to be desired on Saturday night.

It wasn’t indicative of how the Panthers usually perform in their own zone, which perhaps was why it was so jarring to see.

THN asked Maurice after the game how his team can clean up those missteps.

“A little better puck support, flatten a few pucks out,” he replied.

Florida finished the game with 15 giveaways, though Maurice wasn’t so sure about the final count. Regardless of the number, there was clearly an issue in that department that Vancouver appeared to exploit.

“I wouldn’t bet my house on the giveaway-takeaway numbers,” Maurice said. “You may want to take your own.”

New first line combo looking good

Florida’s top line has been humming with Sam Reinhart occupying the right wing spot with Sasha Barkov at center and Evan Rodrigues on the opposite flank.

Moving Reinhart to Barkov’s wing is something that the Panthers have tried in the past, but the combination never really took off, production-wise.

Perhaps the addition of Rodrigues is making the difference.

“I've always liked the idea of (Reinhart) and Barkov together, (but) we ran them 20 games last year and it just didn't produce,” Maurice explained. “Now there were chances, they just didn't finish, so some of that is a little bit like the power play confidence, when one goes it starts to happen for you (even though) there's no real change in your game. I think Rodrigues makes enough good solid plays with the puck and Barkov is moving faster than the whole, so that's clearly the line that we have going.”

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