It’s been a long time since a Florida/Vancouver mid-season game was must watch television. Yes, last season when Luongo returned to Vancouver people tuned in, but once you got past the opening moments, the hockey didn’t matter much. But there was a definite buzz in the city before this game, if not because of the Panthers 12 game winning streak they boasted coming into the game. Which was snapped thanks to stellar performances from Daniel Sedin and Jacob Markstrom, as well as a key goal from Jake Virtanen. Let’s dive in.

For starters, let us give credit where credit is due to two former Canucks Army writers who took the plunge into the NHL scene and Jason Botchford of The Province (Heard of him?) dropped this tidbit on the masses during the 1st period.

And as another former member of the Army points out, these two aren’t alone in Florida.

Congratulations are in order to two fine people who graced us with their presence, and we wish them the best of luck in their new endeavours! 

The Canucks got a scare when lost their best player as of late, when Bo Horvat went down with an injury in the 2nd period, crisis was averted, though. Horvat returned in the 3rd.

As I mentioned at the start, Bobby Lu put on a show early on in his second game in Vancouver since the deal.

It’s no surprise. He’s on pace for his first Vezina trophy (which is absurd) this season and is a big part of the Panthers recent success as they tackle the Atlantic Division with ease.

Alex Burrows wasn’t shy to say hi to his former teammate during the game either.

The Canucks played quite well in the 1st period, they just couldn’t beat a hot goaltender. And the defence let them down, forcing them to skate into the room with a 2-0 deficit. But the first period offensive woes aren’t a surprise as Jeff Paterson points out with this grim stat about the Canucks recent homestand.

During the 1st intermission, Trevor Linden sat down with Dan Murphy of Sportsnet. Not much of note was provided from the interview, except this info near the end.

It’s not a surprise, as the market for a trade seemed pretty much silent. J.D. Burke broke down what this could mean for Higgins and General Fanager added on his cap hit.

Here’s the obligatory post about how old Jagr is. You could never tell watching him.

The crowd got something to celebrate midway through the 2nd when Daniel Sedin proved to us why we love the Sedins so much. 

Besides that, not much went down between that goal and the next one near the end of the 3rd. Florida found a way to manage the game and Luongo shut the door whenever he had to. The Canucks controlled this game for most of it and Markstrom had a great 3rd period. He left every opportunity for the Canucks to capitalize and that they did.

Jake Virtanen, fresh off of his goat-medal winning performance in Finland, built off of his strong performance against Tampa Bay and notched the game-tying goal late in the 3rd.

We moved into 3-on-3 overtime which proved to be as thrilling as always, and a questionable penalty in overtime lead to more Sedinery.

Daniel ended it on a snipe. He ties Markus Naslund for most goals in Canucks history with that marker, and he is just adding on to his All-Star season. And that’s the end of the game!

Wait, everyone started fighting?

A line brawl at the end of the game led to an odd scene with players coming onto the ice, and even the coaches getting into it. 

Daniel Sedin was quoted after the game saying “There was a guy on their bench saying things” which sparked it all. Perhaps we will never know. 

Minutes later, Dan Murphy told us who it was:

With that, the Canucks turn the page on this one and head out to Washington, where they will begin a six-game road trip on Thursday.