Vancouver Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau is heading back to the drawing board after another head-scratching loss.
After sweeping a tough road trip last week, his team has come out flat in two straight losses at home, including a 5-1 decision to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
“How we can play so good in one week and then so bad the next week, it’s pretty mind boggling,” Boudreau said.
“I would have put us against anybody after playing Colorado and Vegas and then coming back and still beating a San Jose team that won their next game 4-0 and then took the Leafs to the wire.”
“So it’s just, it’s hard to understand.”
Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring 18:14 into the first, sending a backhanded shot in from the slot for his 11th goal of the season.
Twenty-five seconds later, former Canuck Gustav Forsling scored with a one-timer through traffic to put the Panthers up 2-0. Sam Reinhart contributed an assist on the play to extend his point streak to five games (two goals, five assist).
Seconds later, Florida was once again on the attack, peppering the Vancouver net with shots. Thatcher Demko stopped a shot from Patric Hornqvist, then grabbed his right leg as Ryan Lomberg batted in the rebound to give the visitors a 3-0 advantage.
The goalie stayed down in the crease while a trainer came out. Supported by a trainer and teammate Ilya Mikheyev, Demko left the ice, putting no weight on his right leg.
WATCH | Demko exits game with injury:
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Goalie Thatcher Demko has to be helped off the ice after suffering an apparent lower-body injury in Vancouver’s 5-1 loss to Florida.
“Any time you lose your starter like that — I mean he could barely put weight on his leg — obviously we’re concerned about him,” said Canucks’ captain Bo Horvat. “Not sure the severity of it but hopefully he’s going to be OK and back in our lineup soon.”
The Canucks later tweeted that Demko would not return and Boudreau did not have an update on the goalie’s status after the game.
Demko stopped 15-of-18 shots on the night. He was replaced by Spencer Martin, who made 13 saves.
It can be hard for a goalie to focus when they come off the bench due to an injury, Martin admitted.
Thursday’s result snapped a three-game losing skid for the Panthers.
Sam Bennett scored twice and Tkachuk added a pair of assists to his game-opening goal. Spencer Knight made 31 saves for Florida (11-9-4)
“We’ve got off to pretty good leads in the last few weeks but I thought we did a great job of not just holding on to it, but building off it [tonight],” Tkachuk said.
“Everybody stepped up. It’s awesome when three lines can be able to contribute. Well, everybody contributed but three different lines scoring after the first just really set up our night.”
Vancouver got on the board 12:26 into the second period. The Canucks won a defensive zone faceoff and Dakota Joshua went streaking down the ice on a two-on-one, then sent a quick wrist shot sailing past Knight to make it 4-1.
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—@Canucks
Forty-eight seconds earlier, some slick passing led to a goal at the other end of the ice. Carter Verhaeghe and Tkachuk dished the puck back and forth across the slot before slicing it to Bennett, stationed backdoor for an easy tap-in.
An ugly giveaway by Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes sealed the score midway through the third period.
Tkachuk and Bennett play well off each other, said Panthers coach Paul Maurice.
“They’ve been really good together and that’s kind of why we kept them together at times,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to matter who Matthew plays with but Sam and he have something going for sure.”
A smattering of boos emanated from the crowd at Rogers Arena during the final seconds of the game, and the jeers grew louder following the final whistle.
The Canucks went 0-for-3 with the man advantage and the Panthers were 0-for-2. Vancouver does not have a power-play goal in its last three outings.
Hornqvist played his 900th regular-season NHL game. He’s played for the Nashville Predators, Penguins and Panthers over 15 seasons and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017.
Canucks honour Hall of Famers Luongo, Sedins
The Canucks held a pre-game ceremony to honour three former players who were recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Former goalie Roberto Luongo and forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin all stood at centre ice, watching video highlights from their careers before taking part in a ceremonial puck drop.
Video tributes narrated by former coach Alain Vigneault played on the big screen and each of the three players received a traditional blanket from First Nations leaders.
It won’t be the last time Luongo is recognized before a Vancouver crowd. The Canucks announced Wednesday that he’ll join the team’s Ring of Honour next season.
“It’s a great honour. I’m really excited about it,” said Luongo, who now serves as Florida’s director of goaltending and as a special adviser to general manager Bill Zito. “It’s nice to see that the work that I put in here for eight years is going to get recognized and I’m very grateful to be able to go up there with those guys.”
The Canucks continue a four-game homestand Saturday when they host the Arizona Coyotes.