The Canucks took on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Thursday night, winning their first game of the regular season 3–2 in overtime. Teddy Blueger, Quinn Hughes, and J.T. Miller were the goal scorers for the Canucks, while Jesper Boqvist and Anton Lundell registered tallies for Florida. Kevin Lankinen made an impressive 26 saves on 28 shots against for his first win with his new team.
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Coming off a winless start to the regular season, Vancouver shook up their lines by sliding birthday boy Jake DeBrusk to Blueger’s line and setting Elias Pettersson up with spark plugs Nils Höglander and Conor Garland. The only line exempt from being blended up — made up of Miller, Brock Boeser, and Arshdeep Bains — proved why they were kept together by starting the game with a spring in their steps. Vincent Desharnais and the newly called-up Erik Brännström took the places of Derek Forbort (personal leave) and Noah Juulsen.
Thursday night’s game marked the fourth game in a row that the Panthers played without Matthew Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov. Tkachuk has remained out of the lineup due to illness, while Barkov sustained an injury in a matchup against the Ottawa Senators last Thursday. The Panthers dressed 11 forwards for this game and, part way through, lost Jonah Gadjovich and Sam Reinhart (though the latter returned).
Vancouver continued its trend of scoring first, something they’ve done three out of four of their games this season, though their first-period lead was short-lived. After a lengthy review, a wraparound shot by Blueger was ruled a good goal, negating what would have been a penalty on former Canuck Nate Schmidt. Only 11 seconds later, Florida tied it up with a shot by Jesper Boqvist that bounced off Lankinen and into the net.
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Wraparound chances were a popular subject in this game, as a period after Blueger’s reviewed goal, Evan Rodrigues attempted his own that also ended up under review. However, footage showed that the puck didn’t completely cross the goal line, negating any chance of a result like Blueger’s. Later on in the same period, Rodrigues tried another bank shot off of Lankinen’s right leg, but the Canucks goaltender quickly covered the puck before Florida could take the lead.
With his 44th career goal, Quinn Hughes ties Jocelyn Guevremont and Dale Tallon for the 12th most goal by a defenceman in #Canucks history
— Adam Kierszenblat (@Adamkblat) October 18, 2024
Another hot topic was a game stoppage coaches challenge by Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. Florida issued the challenge, believing that Nils Åman’s glove made contact with the puck on a faceoff before Hughes tucked the puck past a screened Sergei Bobrovsky. After another few minutes of reviewing footage, officials rejected Maurice’s challenge, allowing Vancouver to take a 2–1 lead. With this tally, Hughes is now tied for the 12th most goals by a defenceman in franchise history. The Canucks captain finished the game with a stunning nine shots on goal.
Two Canucks, Blueger and his linemate, Kiefer Sherwood, took beatings in this game. Blueger dropped the gloves with Uvis Balinskis after nudging the pad of Bobrovsky following a stoppage in play. Sherwood, on the other hand, had pucks introducing themselves to his face in both the first and second period. Despite being hit both on the side of his face and on the chin, Sherwood stayed in the game, continuing his consistent physical play.
Vancouver’s excellent penalty kill hit a skid as Anton Lundell notched a goal near the last minute of the second period. An ambitious hit committed by Carson Soucy left Lundell enough space to shoot the puck past Lankinen, tying the game up at 2–2. The Canucks followed this up with one final offensive push of the period but to no avail.
Previously paired up with Aatu Räty and now playing with Pettersson, Garland, and Höglander showed promise with a drive and hustle that resulted in good-looking scoring chances throughout each period. In the third, a lucky bounce found its way into Garland’s path, which he passed over to Höglander to generate a shot that rang loudly off the post.
The outcome of this game could have been very different if not for the sharp play of Lankinen. With a calm demeanour, Lankinen made save after save in short bursts throughout the game. However, across the way, Bobrovsky matched his excellent play. Peppered with shot after shot from various Canucks, the Panthers goaltender no doubt kept his team in the game during the third period. The Canucks played well during the third period, but Bobrovsky may have played even better.
Worry struck at the beginning of overtime as Hughes was spotted heading to the dressing room after a hit, though the captain took to the ice with ease as the puck was dropped to start the extra frame. An interesting choice was made by Paul Maurice, who chose to ice only forwards throughout the overtime period — something that eventually cost him the game, as Miller took advantage of their positions and shot the puck over Bobrovsky’s blocker. The game-winner is his tenth overtime goal scored for the Canucks.
Facts and Stats:
– Quinn Hughes sets a new career high with eight shots on net
– Kiefer Sherwood becomes the sixth forward in franchise history to record 10+ hits in a game
– Canucks 41 hits are the most by a team in the NHL so far this season
– Vancouver surpasses the 30-shot mark for the first time this season
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
11:42- VAN: Teddy Blueger (2) from Kiefer Sherwood and Jake DeBrusk
11:53- FLA: Jesper Boqvist (1) from Mackie Samoskevich and Gustav Forsling
Second Period:
6:30- VAN: Quinn Hughes (1) from Danton Heinen and Nils Åman
19:00- FLA: Anton Lundell from Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart (PPG)
Third Period:
No Scoring
Overtime:
2:09- VAN: J.T. Miller from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser
Up Next:
With the overtime win, Vancouver is now .500 on the season. They hope to build off of this win as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, October 19th. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PST.
