1) If that's the last game Roberto Luongo ever plays at Rogers Arena -- and based on the way the soon to be 40-year-old performed Sunday it may not be -- then what a show he put on for the fans at Rogers Arena. In the first 57 minutes of work, the former Canuck offered up a vintage performance and in the first period at times had a look of invincibility. Ultimately, it was Loui Eriksson who beat him to open the scoring midway through the second period and Ben Hutton added what proved to be the game winner seven a half minutes into the third. After the Canucks salted the victory away with a pair of empty netters, Markus Granlund beat Luongo for a meaningless goal with just 10 seconds to play. On the night, Luongo and Markstrom waged a terrific goaltending duel in a game that was tied 1-1 with under 15 minutes to go. Luongo finished the night stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced. Among his saves were a couple of point blank chances for Brock Boeser in the first period. Not to be outdone, Markstrom made a remarkable glove stop off Nick Bjugstad early in the third period and another solid save off Aleksander Barkov with eight minutes to play. After a couple of middling performances against Toronto and Arizona and with back-up Thatcher Demko on the scene and itching to get his first start of the season, Markstrom returned to his December form refusing to blink first when Sunday's game was on the line.
2) You could have given me several choices and I wouldn't have picked Loui Eriksson to be the scoring star in this -- or any game. But the veteran showed signs of offensive life that haven't been seen often enough during his three seasons in Canuck colours. On his goal, he showed terrific anticipation and hand-eye coordination intercepting Mike Hoffman's attempt to go rink wide with the puck at his own blueline. From there, Eriksson moved in alone against Luongo, out-waited the netminder and calmly slid the puck home for his eighth of the season. In this battle, Loui beat Lou and gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead. Eriksson later added assists on empty net goals by Brock Boeser and Jay Beagle matching his season high for points in a game. "It's been tough," Eriksson said post-game about his goal-scoring struggles this season. "I've been working hard to get chances and it hasn't come easy. All you can do is work hard and keep working. It was nice to get that one tonight and now it's on to the next one." We'll see about that next one. Hopefully it doesn't take as long as this one did. Eriksson's goal snapped an eight-game drought and was his first non-empty netter in nearly a month (December 15th vs Philadelphia). He's been demoted to a fourth line with Jay Beagle and Tyler Motte with an emphasis on checking rather than scoring. He played 16:40 on Sunday including two minutes on both special teams. He doesn't impact games often any more -- certainly not as often as his paycheque would suggest he should -- but he was a positive force in the Canucks win against the Panthers.
3) The Canucks really had no choice but to split Ben Hutton and Erik Gudbranson after a tough run of recent games. In their first game apart in a while, Hutton scored the winning goal and paired with Troy Stecher to form an effective defensive duo. Stecher led the Canucks with a 68.5% individual corsi for at even strength while Hutton wasn't far behind at 60%. Gudbranson didn't fare as well in the shot shares (44% paired with Derrick Pouliot), but showed up and stuck up for his teammates in the physical department dishing out a game-high six hits and dropping the gloves with Michael Haley in a first period scrap. Hutton's goal was his first in 30 games and came off a set face-off play on which Stecher let a low shot go from the right boards looking to create a rebound off Luongo's pads. The play worked to perfection as Luongo kicked the puck out to his right and Hutton snuck in from the left point to bang home the rebound breaking a 1-1 tie and putting the Canucks in front for good. The goal was his fifth of the season -- matching a career-high set two seasons ago. Hutton didn't score at all last year as he struggled to get out of Travis Green's doghouse for much of the second half of the schedule. The goal gives the Canucks 17 on the season from defensemen and paves the way for the team to eclipse the 22 it got from its defense corps last season.
4) In the late stages Sunday, Bo Horvat rolled a backhander 150 feet and missed the empty net by about two inches. Horvat needed that goal. He's gone a season-high nine games without scoring and hasn't found the back of the net since a December 20th game against St. Louis. That's not to say he's playing poorly. That certainly wasn't the case against Florida. Horvat shared the team lead in shots on goal with Brock Boeser -- each had five. Horvat had nine attempts on the night. He and his line spent most of the night in the Panthers zone. His best chance to score -- empty net opportunity aside -- came in the second period when Troy Stecher fed him the puck in front and his sweeping backhand beat Luongo, but rolled just wide of the Panther net. He also poked at a Boeser rebound on a three on two late in the first period when a rising Boeser shot up high handcuffed Luongo and the puck was lying loose for a moment. Horvat picked up his 20th assist of the season on Jay Beagle's empty net goal late in the game, so he wasn't held off the scoresheet entirely. But Horvat's offense has gone dry of late. He has just three points (all assists) in the team's past nine games. The Canucks won, Horvat made an impact without scoring and this seemed to be a step in the right direction. He's played too well this season to go much longer without putting a puck in the net.
5) It was clear from the drop of the puck the Canucks had Mike Matheson in their cross-hairs as a result of the October 13th hit that left Elias Pettersson concussed. And so they should have. While not going overboard, the Canucks tried to take the body on the Panthers defenseman whenever possible and four of their 18 first period hits were registered on Matheson. Antoine Roussel, Brandon Sutter and Jake Virtanen all got a piece of Matheson early in the hockey game. The crowd roared with each collision and the paying customers were on Matheson every time he touched the puck. While Erik Gudbranson and Michael Haley fought as some sort of subplot -- and sideshow -- to the early season events, Matheson was the true target on this night. The way the Canucks handled themselves and Matheson three months after the fact was really all anybody wanted to see from them on the night in question in Sunrise, Florida. It took longer than it should have, but the Canucks made life difficult on Matheson from start to finish Sunday by finishing checks, playing him hard and letting him know the team felt a line had been crossed. It didn't seem like too much to ask then, but at least they didn't let Matheson get away a second time. He was challenged and didn't respond, but he faced the media prior to the game and took his lumps during the game. In this corner, it seems this case is closed. The Canucks won't see the Panthers until next season now and it hardly feels like the kind of drama that needs to carry over from one season to the next.
6) Speaking of drama, the Nikolay Goldobin saga took yet another turn Sunday when the Russian winger took a hooking penalty with the Canucks clinging to a 1-0 lead three and a half minutes into the third period. Ten days ago in Ottawa, Travis Green scratched Goldobin and prior to the game outlined his reasons for his decision. Chief among them was the fact Goldobin doesn't move his feet enough when he doesn't have the puck. Green was measured as he detailed examples of games in which Goldobin coasted on forechecks and allowed opponents to break the puck out easily. On Sunday, Goldobin was caught flat-footed again as he reached out and hooked Panthers forward Denis Malgin. While Florida did not score with Goldobin in the penalty box, they tied the game one second after he stepped back onto the playing surface. That one second shift was Goldobin's final shift of the night. He was a spectator for the final 14:31. In three games since returning from back to back scratches (in Ottawa and the following night in Montreal), Goldobin has not provided any offense. He has been on the ice for eight opponents goals in his past five games. He hasn't scored in 13 games and has one goal in his past 20 outings. The coach has spent time with Goldobin and says he has repeatedly shown the forward video of his transgressions. The message does not appear to be getting through. With Elias Pettersson set to return to the line-up soon, the Canucks will have to make a roster decision to activate their scoring star from Injured Reserve. They will also have to make a line-up switch to get Pettersson back in action. Goldobin may find himself on the wrong end of one or both of those moves. Something has to change and it doesn't seem like the player is the one who is about to alter his game. So it may have come to the point when the coach and the organization are the ones to move first.
