Panthers struggle for second straight game, blanked by Vancouver 4-0
Florida has lost each of its past two games in Seattle and Vancouver by a combined score of 8-0
The west coast portion of the Florida Panthers five-game road trip has not gone well for the visiting team so far.
After being shut out 4-0 on Tuesday in Seattle, the Panthers were hoping to bounce back on Thursday night when they arrived in Vancouver.
Florida once again found itself trailing in a game it was arguably the better team, but things spiraled out of control quickly as the Canucks ended up cruising to a 4-0 victory.
The first period almost felt like a continuation of Tuesday’s game in Seattle. The Panthers went into the locker room with a 15-9 shot advantage but still trailed the Canucks 2-0 where it counted, on the scoreboard.
Midway through of a second period that had been mostly dominated by the Panthers, Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky came out of his net to play the puck and must have had a brain cramp because he sent a cross-ice pass directly to Vancouver’s Dakota Joshua, who had nothing but a wide-open net in front of him.
A late second period 5-on-3 goal would make it 4-0 for the Canucks, and that’s how the game would end.
Florida outshot the Canucks 14-1 during the final frame, but it still felt like a Vancouver-dominated night.
On to Edmonton.
Here are some thoughts and observations from Thursday’s game in Vancouver:
He didn’t get much help in front of him, but Bobrovksy still surrendered four goals on the first 16 shots he faced. Backup goalie Anthony Stolarz was brought into the game for the third period.
Over his past two games, Bobrovsky has allowed seven goals on 39 shots.
On the opposite side of the ice, Thatcher Demko stopped 36 Florida shots, including all 14 the Panthers sent his way during the third period.
The Panthers came up empty on three power play chances while allowing Vancouver to go 1-for-3 on the man advantage.
The last time the Panthers were shutout in consecutive games was back in 2011, Oct. 18 at Washington and Oct. 20 vs. Buffalo, both 3-0 losses.
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