When the Florida Panthers left town last Sunday, their power play was ranked last in the NHL.
Tonight, when the Panthers face the slumping Vancouver Canucks in Sunrise, the story is a little bit different.
Panthers lines tonight: projected lineup and starting goalie →
The Panthers cured many of their early season ills at the expense of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday not. That’s not much of a surprise considering that the Panthers are 11-1-0 in their past 12 against the Jackets.
Florida’s power play went from a paltry 3.6 percent success rate on Monday to a far more respectable 18.4 percent.
After registering one power play goal in their first 28 attempts, the Panthers went 6-of-10 in games against Columbus and Buffalo.
Brady Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart broke their scoring droughts big time with four goals each over the past two games.
Unlike the Blue Jackets, Florida has surprisingly struggled over the years against the Canucks, losing five of the past six contests — including all four in the two Stanley Cup championship seasons.
This Vancouver team limped into town riding a five-game losing streak.
Any hockey coach will tell you not to take a team lightly when it is hungry for a victory.
The Canucks finished last season with the fewest points (58) in the NHL. Most forecasters predict a similar finish this season. Only two seasons earlier, Vancouver finished first in the Pacific Division with 109 points.
Their offense finished 31st in the NHL with a 2.56 GPG average last year.
The top unit of Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser remain intact. DeBrusk and Boeser were the only 20-goal scorers last season with 23 and 22 respectively.
They are not strong beyond the first line and on paper are totally outclassed by the Panthers’ offensive balance and depth.
Vancouver had a porous defense last season, finishing last in the NHL with a 3.83 team GAA. The forced trade of elite defenseman Quinn Hughes to Minnesota in mid-season was a crippling blow.
In goal, veteran Thatcher Demko has struggled with injuries in the last two seasons and has never regained his early career form.
He starts this season still recovering from hip surgery with the best estimate of his return to be around the end of the calendar year.
Kevin Lankinen handled the bulk of the work over the last two seasons but went downhill last year, possibly due to overwork and probably due to a less than stellar defense. This season he started five of Vancouver’s eight games and has an embarrassing 6.88/.786.
Former Ottawa farmhand Leevi Meriläinen, a preseason waiver claim, has fared better in his three starts with a 2.40/.926. He made 35 saves in Tuesday’s tough 3-2 loss to the Islanders. The Canucks were down 2-0 in the first and managed to tie the game before the Isles’ Kyle Palmieri scored the winner in the third period.
Freshman coach Manny Malhotra has his work cut out for him.
If anyone knows the organization, its strengths and weaknesses, it’s Malhotra.
He spent three seasons as an assistant with the Canucks and two more as head coach of their AHL affiliate. He also spent three seasons of his 17-season NHL playing career in Vancouver.
“We know we’re capable of tilting the ice,’’ he said after Tuesday’s loss. “We know we’re capable of playing much better. It’s a matter of putting the 60-minute effort together. For me that’s the long and short of it.”
ON DECK: GAME 8
VANCOUVER CANUCKS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
Alan Greenberg has been a freelance hockey journalist for over 40 years. He has written for almost every major … More about Alan Greenberg, FHN Sr. Writer