The good thing about what the Panthers did wrong in Vancouver is how unlike them it was

The Florida Panthers came up empty on Thursday night in Vancouver.

Riding a seven-game point streak and sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers struggled to get into their usual defensive groove and lost a 4-0 game to the Canucks that wasn’t quite as wide a margin as the score would indicate.

Ultimately, a handful of uncharacteristic mistakes cost Florida on multiple levels, almost like a domino effect.

Fortunately, it doesn’t appear to be anything that will require much special attention after the fact.

Let’s get to the takeaways from the PNW:

“WE JUST DON’T DO THAT”

Over the past few seasons, the Panthers have become known for the way they defend.

They are fast, they are physical, they are aggressive and they are in-sync.

It’s incredibly difficult to consistently perform those kind of systems at the highest level, and it takes a lot of things happening involving several people, all at the same time.

On Thursday at Rogers Arena, it felt like there was something off with Florida’s normally well-oiled machine.

“We give up three rush goals and we just don't do that,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “We can't do that. Those are all off our sticks, so we own those. Other than that, there wasn't much going on either team. I thought they defended hard around their net, other than that it was like watching paint dry.”

SHOULDN’T BE A TOUGH FIX

Considering the Panthers pride themselves on their defending and it’s a major reason why they’ve been to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and won the whole thing last season, it probably won’t be very hard for them to snap back into form.

These players are well versed on what Maurice asks of them and what they need to do in order for the team to succeed.

“Nothing is ever easy to fix in the NHL, we just don't give up a lot of rush chances. It's the hallmark of our defensive game,” Maurice said. “It's very difficult to defend off a turnover because you're in an attack position, and then when you turn the puck over, it's very difficult to get the defensive position or hold a gap or hold the line, which is pretty much what we're good at.”

DOES HE HAVE YOUR NUMBER?

By all accounts, it appears Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen enjoys playing against the Panthers.

He has now won five straight starts when facing Florida, dating back to his time with Nashville, in which he’s played to a .960 save percentage and 1.19 goals against average.

Included in those five victories are a pair of shutouts, which just happen to be the last two times the Cats have been blanked.

Still, while he did finish with 27 saves, including the six high danger shots Florida sent his way, it wasn’t like he was standing on his head between the pipes the way Joey Daccord had been for Seattle on Tuesday.

“I'm certainly not taking anything away from him, but I'm not standing here going, ‘If it wasn't for their goalie,’” Maurice said. “We go on the road and give up 18 or 19 shots, that should be enough. The rush chances have got to go.”

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