Canucks Can’t Stop Tkachuk In 3–2 Overtime Loss To The Florida Panthers

They came close, but the Vancouver Canucks couldn’t quite cut it. Despite leading for the bulk of the game, the Canucks suffered a 3–2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers, bringing their current losing streak to six games. Liam Öhgren and defenceman Elias Pettersson scored Vancouver’s goals, while Leevi Meriläinen produced yet another strong outing with 36 saves on 39 shots. 

One key storyline heading into tonight’s game was Filip Chytil’s return to play. The forward missed the start of the 2026–27 season due to an injury sustained during his first pre-season game of the year, but joined the team after taking part in a couple of skates starting on Tuesday. Tonight, he centred a line between Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser, collecting an assist and playing the third-highest minutes of Vancouver’s forwards with 18:30. Not only did he send a smooth backwards pass to Pettersson to set up the defenceman’s goal tonight, he also took one shift on Vancouver’s penalty kill. 

The other player that came into the lineup tonight, Victor Mancini, also had a solid game in the limited minutes he played in (13:30). The defenceman took Luke Schenn’s spot on Vancouver’s third-pairing alongside Zeev Buium. He showed up well in the second period in particular, making a timely hit to tie-up an oncoming Brady Tkachuk while also flashing some offensive skill in another sequence by pulling the puck past two Florida players and breaking it out of Vancouver’s zone. The defenceman also spent some time on Vancouver’s penalty kill. 

For just the fourth time this season, the Canucks scored the game’s opening goal thanks to a strong shot from Öhgren. Major credit to the goal goes to Linus Karlsson, however, whose battles along the boards managed to pluck the puck away from the Panthers. His work near the corner ultimately helped set Öhgren up to score his second goal of the season. 

Tonight’s game was much more solid for Vancouver from a defensive perspective — for the most part. After scoring two goals in the first period, the Canucks were able to plug up the neutral zone well enough to prevent Florida from getting too many good chances on Meriläinen. Shots were 9–4 Florida by the end of the second period, with the Panthers only managing to produce one high-danger scoring chance.  

Vancouver nearly had a golden opportunity to score their third goal of the game during the second period. Jonathan Lekkerimäki sent a puck over to forward Elias Pettersson, who had an open stretch of ice to hurtle towards Panthers goaltender Akira Schmid. However, as the pass was sent, referee Francois St. Laurent collided with Pettersson, knocking him to the ice and preventing the Canucks forward from capitalizing on the play. 

The tide seemed to change for the Panthers once Vancouver wound up on their third power play of the game. Florida was able to pick the puck off and control play in Vancouver’s zone with the Canucks’ first unit defending on the ice. Florida was able to ride the momentum into a rush sequence that set the younger Tkachuk up for his fourth goal of the season.  

After a strenuous two minutes defending against Florida at 6-on-5, featuring shift lengths of over 1:30 minutes for players like Chytil, Boeser, and defenceman Pettersson, it looked as though Vancouver may have escaped with a win in regulation. However, with the clock winding down to less than 12 seconds, Tkachuk sent the puck past Meriläinen to tie things up for the Panthers.  

It was all Florida once overtime started. The Canucks weren’t quite able to gain full control of the puck whenever it touched their sticks, allowing the Panthers to generate better chances with sustained time in Vancouver’s zone. Halfway through the overtime period, Tkachuk took advantage of long shifts for Buium, Boeser, and Max Sasson, cutting in past the Canucks and scoring his third goal of the game and sixth in the past two games. 

Vancouver has now dropped all five of their games on their current east-coast road trip. They only have one more shot at a win — Saturday’s matinee game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 1:00 pm PT. 

1st Period: 

7:23 - VAN: Liam Öhgren (2) from Linus Karlsson 

17:06 - VAN: Elias Pettersson (3) Filip Chytil and Brock Boeser 

2nd Period: 

No Scoring. 

3rd Period: 

11:11 - FLA: Brady Tkachuk (4) from Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk 

19:47 - FLA: Brady Tkachuk (5) from Carter Verhaeghe and Seth Jones 

Overtime: 

2:23 - FLA: Brady Tkachuk (6) from Seth Jones and Sam Reinhart 

Up Next: 

Vancouver Canucks @ Tampa Bay Lightning, October 17, 1:00 pm PT 

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