Panthers Rush By Canucks

     The Florida Panthers jumped on the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at BB&T Center on Thursday night. The Panthers won for the third time in the last six games. The Canucks have lost their last two contests by a combined 14-4 score after winning their previous seven games.
     Florida(23-16-5) scored one minute into the first period to go ahead 1-0. Quinn Hughes turned the puck over while behind his own cage. Vincent Trocheck passed it to the crease area and Noel Acciari put in a wrist shot. Trocheck increased his assist and point streak to three games.
     The Panthers quickly made it 2-0 at the 3:01 mark. Brian Boyle made an outlet pass from his own zone to his left. Colton Sceviour carried the puck down the left wing and sent a diagonal pass to the low slot and Mark Pysyk redirected it in past Thatcher Dembo. Boyle was able to compile his 100th career assist on the play.
     Vancouver(23-17-4) got on the scoreboard at 6:31 and they trailed 2-1. Elias Pettersson cycled the puck from the right wing. Tyler Myers snapped a shot from the right point and Brock Boeser deflected it in from the slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his 14th goal of the campaign.
     It became 3-1 for Florida with 1:07 left in the first period. Jonathan Huberdeau forwarded the puck to Evegnii Dadonov at the Panthers blue line and he relayed in to Alekander Barkov at center ice for a 2-on-1 breakaway. Barkov brought the puck into the Canucks zone on the left side, passed it to Dadonov in the high slot and he finished it off with a snap shot for his 19th goal of the season.
     In the second period, the Panthers scored a power-play goal and expanded their lead to 4-1 at the 3:40 mark. Keith Yandle advanced the puck from the left point to Huberdeau on the left wing. He forced Christopher Tanev to fall down in the left circle with a crossover move. He made a cross-ice pass through the low slot and Mike Hoffman fired a wrist shot from the low right circle for his 16th goal.
     The Panthers increased the gap to 5-1 at 6:55 of the third period. Trocheck won the faceoff in the left circle and Brett Connolly moved the puck to Aaron Ekblad at the top of the zone. His slap shot was redirected in by Acciari in the low slot for his second tally of the game and 17th goal of the season.
     The Canucks dropped it to 5-2 with 7:46 remaining in the third. Mike Matheson committed a turnover in his own zone and Tim Schaller gathered the puck on the right-wing wall. Tyler Motte pulled off a give-and-go pass along with Jay Beagle and scored on a high wrist shot from the low right circle.