By Canadian Press

Canucks score two late goals, top Panthers 5-3

Oct 21, 2023 | 8:20 PM

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Kuzmenko scored the go-ahead goal with 4:57 left to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Saturday night.

Quinn Hughes, Carson Soucy, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser also scored for Vancouver, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Casey DeSmith made 33 saves.

Sam Reinhart scored two third-period goals to rally the Panthers from a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 tie with 5:59 left. Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida while Evan Rodrigues picked up two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

Hughes opened the scoring for Vancouver with a quick shot from the point on the power play with 9:51 to go in the first. Barkov tied it 20 seconds later, beating DeSmith with a backhand shot on a breakaway.

Soucy walked into the slot and beat Bobrovsky with a wrist shot on the power play with 9:19 to go in the second. Pettersson extended the lead to 3-1 less than a minute later, sending a shot through traffic off of a backhand feed from Kuzmenko.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Reinhart and Rodrigues teamed up for both Florida goals in the third, before Kuzemko scored off a rebound to put Vancouver up for good. Panthers forward Steven Lorentz crashed into Bobrovsky, leaving him unable to contest the shot.

Boeser sealed the game with an empty-net goal with 2:10 left.

NOTES

F Ilya Mikheyev picked up an assist in his season debut for the Canucks. He played for the first time since a knee injury in January. … The Panthers continue to be without C Sam Bennett, still out with a lower-body injury. Florida is hoping he can play Tuesday. … Panthers D Oliver Ekman-Larsson played against the Canucks for the first time since they bought out his contract in July. The $19.3 million buyout was the fifth-most expensive in NHL history.

UP NEXT

Canucks: At Nashville on Tuesday night.

Panthers: Host San Jose on Tuesday night.

—

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Colby Guy, The Associated Press