The Florida Panthers headed to Vancouver looking to end their five-game losing streak but fell short in a 5-1 loss to the Canucks on Sunday evening.
There was a sense of anticipation to the game before the puck was even dropped. Whether it was because of Roberto Luongo was making his yearly return to Vancouver or the residual effects from the previous meeting, that saw Panthers defender Mike Matheson injure Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson, the crowd and both teams were engaged early on.
The two squads traded chances early in the first period with the Panthers getting notable high-end chances from Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann.