Joshua Scores Two Goals, Demko Picks Up Shutout In Win Over Panthers

Dakota Joshua had two goals and Thatcher Demko got a shutout to help the Canucks to a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers.

The Canucks finish their five-game homestand with a four-game win streak which they’re looking to build on as they head on out for their road trip.

“It was a good overall effort from everybody. There weren’t a lot of holes in our game tonight, so it was nice to get a shoutout for Demmer and keep this thing going,” Joshua said.

Head Coach Rick Tocchet said it was nice to see the Joshua-Garland-Blueger line to see the fruits of their labour on the stat sheet, and the line is defensively bringing it as well. 

“Defensively, they’re pretty damn good out there. When Florida had Grades A’s they weren’t on the ice for them, so you’ve got to give them a lot of credit. And sticking with it too and now they’re getting rewarded for it. Dakota’s really been playing well for us, Gars is all over the ice and Teddy does a nice job out there for us,” he said.

Demko got his third shutout of the season on Roberto Luongo Night, stopping 36 shots.

“It’s poetic, right? It’s something in the air, you know, just a really cool evening. He’s such a first class guy. I’m not super close with him, but every encounter I’ve had he treated me with respect. That’s always really cool coming from someone that you watched growing up,” Demko said.

Game Recap

Andrei Kuzmenko kicked off the scoring for Vancouver for the second game in a row. Conor Garland dug the puck out from the boards, finding Kuzmenko who shot it clean from the slot.

Joshua stuck with the play after a save on his first shot attempt by Sergei Bobrovsky scoring on a backhand in tight on the Florida goaltender to give the Canucks a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

In the second period, Joshua intercepted Sergei Bobrovsky’s attempted clearing pass and he sent the puck into the wide-open net for his second of the night.

“Garland was his taking away the left side, so I knew his options were kind of limited there and just happened to guess the right way and he passed it to me. I don’t know if they get any easier than that, but I’m not complaining,” Joshua said.

Brock Boeser scored backdoor on a 5-on-3 power play to give the Canucks their fourth goal of the night. The Canucks were one for three on the power play in the outing against Florida.

The Panthers put in backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz for the final period, and he stopped the one shot he faced.

Up next for the Canucks is a four-game road trip starting in Minnesota to take on the Wild Saturday, December 16th at 11 a.m.