Tuesday November 19: Florida Panthers 3 Vancouver Canucks 2 (S/O)
The Vancouver Canucks are now on their longest losing streak since 2009. Here are the highlights from their Tuesday night loss to the Florida Panthers:
Going into Tuesday night's tilt, the Florida Panthers had never won a game at Rogers Arena. Harvey Fialkov of the
Florida Sun-Sentinel reported yesterday that when coach Peter Horachek pointed out this fact to his team, Tim Thomas cheekily chimed in, "I have." Grrrr.....
The whole article is worth a read, with a good look at our former Panthers from a reporter who covered them during their time in the Sunshine State.
Thomas was certainly a focal point during Tuesday's game, and the Canucks got some momentum in the second period around the time that a lone fan started jeering him, then was quickly joined by a chorus of voices.
The Canucks got two goals on Thomas but their nemesis got the last laugh when he was able to best Roberto Luongo in the shootout.
We Sucked
The first step towards change is admitting that you have a problem, right? In that case, this loss may serve a purpose, as John Tortorella finally seemed ready to lay some blame at the feet of his players.
After the game, Tortorella said he thought the Canucks showed a "lack of respect" to their opponent and that he was going to work with the team to try to fix this problem. Here's the clip of his press conference:
I agree with his assessment. At the start of the game, Florida looked pretty bad but the Canucks seemed to drop to their level—or below. The structured, defensive part of the game seemed to disappear, leaving Roberto Luongo to battle on his own. Even the penalty kill went south when Jannik Hansen took an early goaltender-interference penalty. Florida set up easily in the zone and Brad Boyes staked his team to a 1-0 lead just 3:43 into the game.
After the Canucks continued to sleepwalk through the period, the Vancouver dressing room was locked down in the first intermission, with no players available for interviews. Was Torts finally tirading behind closed doors?
The effort was better in the second. Chris Higgins notched the only goal of the period to even the score at 1-1, but the Canucks still only outshot the Panthers 10-8.
The third period looked a lot like the last two games. An early goal by Jannik Hansen gave the Canucks their first lead in forever, but Vancouver was outshot 11-4 in the frame and once again didn't get a shot for the last 12:26 of the period. Shawn Matthias—of all people—tied the game with 11:26 to go and it was all Panthers from there, as the team played to force overtime.
Roberto Luongo was heroic in the late stages, stopping shot after shot from the Panthers, and also dazzled in overtime. One shootout goal from Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau was all it eventually took to earn the Panthers the win.
If there's any good news at this juncture, it's that Vancouver's next two opponents both got spanked on Tuesday night. The Columbus Blue Jackets held a players-only meeting after their 7-0 loss to Edmonton, while the Chicago Blackhawks' roster is getting squeezed by injuries and tight cap space as they've been hammered in their last two road games. I'll have more on both those matchups later in the week.
As for the Canucks, though the team is clearly in a bad place, there will be no bag skate in John Tortorella's world. Wednesday is another day off, followed by an 11:00 am practice at UBC on Thursday.
The lines went into the blender on Tuesday, with the Sedins split up for a good chunk of time. Will that "big change" do the job on Friday, or will the Canucks come out flat again as they face another team that's easy to disrespect right now, the 7-11-3 Blue Jackets?
Quick Hits:
- For what it's worth, Matthias may have been the best player on the ice in the second half of the third period. He played just five minutes through the first two frames, but perked right up after he scored and was a buzz saw in the late stages, to the point where he was named first star of the game. Was he being showcased for a possible trade?
- Here's a
fun read to wrap things up on this depressing day. One Canucks fan dealt with high ticket prices after last year's lockout by purchasing season tickets to the Panthers, with hilarious results.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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