On social media, it may have been Luongo vs. Thomas.
But on the ice, the player with the final say was Jonathan Huberdeau.
The sophomore forward scored the only goal in the shootout, and Vancouver lost their fifth straight game with a 3-2 loss against the Florida Panthers.
Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen scored for Vancouver, who last win was November 7 against the San Jose Sharks, while Brad Boyes and Shawn Matthias scored for the Panthers.
Much of the pre-game attention focused on the first meeting between goalies Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas since Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.
WATCH: Roberto Luongo faces Tim Thomas again
The return of Thomas to Rogers Arena invoked plenty of boos from the crowd, along with online sniping from the Canucks’ divisional rivals.
For the second time in the past week, the Canucks committed a penalty in overtime, as Chris Higgins was called for hooking at 1:20.
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The win moves Vancouver to 11-8-4 on the season, while Florida now sits at 6-12-4. It was the 9th time Vancouver has been to overtime in their first 23 games of the season.
NOTES: Canucks forward Dale Weise returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. He took the place of David Booth, who has just one goal and two assists in 13 games this
season…Former members of the Panthers on the current Canucks’ roster include Luongo, Booth, Higgins, Mike Santorelli and Jason Garrison…Luongo, who was with the Panthers from 2000 to 2006 before being dealt to the Canucks, still ranks first among all-time Florida goaltenders for wins (108), games played (317) and shutouts (26).
– With files from The Canadian Press
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