4 Takeaways From Canucks’ Loss to Panthers

The Vancouver Canucks have lost six games in a row, getting beaten by the incredibly tough Florida Panthers off the back of Brady Tkachuk, who scored his second hat trick in a row. With that said, the Canucks took the Panthers to overtime and held a 2-0 lead for most of the game. It’s a shame that they blew it, but it was always a tough task keeping their opponent off the scoreboard. Going in, it felt like a David v. Goliath matchup. Per NHL EDGE stats, the Panthers entered the game with the third most offensive zone time in the NHL at 43.8%, while the Canucks were 30th at 37.9%.

There is still lots that can be built upon from this game, as it was definitely the team’s best effort of the road trip thus far, even if it was a pretty devastating one to watch. 

Merilainen Might Be the Guy

At least until Thatcher Demko is fully healthy…

Even so, Leevi Merilainen has been one of the better goalies to start the season, albeit in a limited sample size. The game against the Panthers might’ve been his masterpiece, as he was simply sensational. It’s a shame that he wasn’t able to end the night with the win, but again, it was always going to be a big ask when the Canucks were outshot 39-17. 

It’s especially clear that with Kevin Lankinen in net these days, this game probably would’ve been a blowout. Lankinen, per MoneyPuck, is the worst goalie in the NHL this season in terms of goals saved above expected by quite a large margin. It’s clear Merilainen should and will be getting more of the starts as this team tries to piece together stretches of competitive hockey.

Chytil Has Offensive Potential

As NHL fans, we haven’t seen enough of Filip Chytil. He’s dealt with so many injuries, and they’ve always seemed to come right when he was knocking on the door of a breakout. He only played in 12 matches last season, and with him getting hurt again in the preseason, many fans were wondering if he would have availability issues for another campaign.

It was announced right before the game that Chytil would be good to go, and he got plenty of ice time, as his 18:30 was third amongst the team’s forwards. He had a really nifty assist on the Canucks’ second goal from defenseman Elias Pettersson, showing his solid hockey IQ and playmaking ability. His all-around game definitely could use some work, though, especially as he did get bullied in the faceoff circle throughout the night. He also had an ugly giveaway at the end of the game that could’ve led to disaster.

But on the offensive front, there isn’t much concern as to whether Chytil can score; it’s mostly about whether he can stay on the ice.

Another Elias Pettersson Can Score?

When fans check the scoresheet following a game, many probably look for the name “Elias Pettersson” to see how many goals or points the $11.6 million forward put up in the game. However, maybe they should also be checking for the other Pettersson.

Defenseman Pettersson is definitely more of a stay-at-home guy, at least so far at this stage in his career, but he has three goals in nine games in 2026-27. This ties his total from last season, in which he played 70 games. He’s not going to be a prime Brent Burns-type, but it’s great watching him become confident in taking the shot, and he’s been doing a great job of positioning himself to get those looks.

Overtime Is Going to be Tough Moving Forward

The overtime period in this game was ugly. It was really bad, as Zeev Buium and Paul Cotter looked completely out of sync, and the Canucks were unable to grab possession really at any point. This all led to the Brady Tkachuk hat trick that had many fans questioning why they dedicated their late afternoon to this game.

It’s going to be hard for a group like this to succeed in 3v3 overtime, which often favours teams with the ability to control possession. The Canucks also are a squad built of solid complementary players, but really lack the play-drivers who can make something happen in a situation like overtime.

Coming Up

The Canucks will finish their road trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at 1 pm PST before heading home for three games.