Vancouver found its attack in the third period, but a slow start and a missed chance off the crossbar left the Canucks with a 3-1 loss

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks lost their sixth straight game, all in regulation, after the Philadelphia Flyers held on for a 3-1 win at Rogers Arena on Monday. Vancouver fell to 3-16-1, making the club’s slow start even harder to escape.

Philadelphia controlled much of the first two periods despite playing on consecutive nights. Michael Bunting scored 2:03 into the game in his return from five games as a healthy scratch. Travis Konecny doubled the lead on a power play at 3:05 of the second, converting a setup from Matvei Michkov.

The Canucks had only six shots through 40 minutes. They finally changed the pace in the third, outshooting Philadelphia 13-2 and creating three late power-play opportunities. Jonathan Lekkerimaki cut the deficit to 2-1 at 12:44 with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.

Lekkerimaki nearly tied the game on Vancouver’s next power play, but his shot hit the crossbar. The Canucks later received an extended six-on-four chance after Flyers goaltender Joseph Woll was penalized for pulling off his mask when a strap came loose.

Philadelphia survived the pressure. Travis Sanheim scored a short-handed empty-net goal with 58.3 seconds left, sealing the result on the Flyers’ first shot of the third period. Woll stopped 18 of 19 shots, while Leevi Merilainen made 14 saves for Vancouver.

The third-period response showed that the Canucks can create pressure, but it arrived too late. A rested home team was outplayed for two periods by an opponent coming off an overtime loss in Calgary. Vancouver now has to turn short bursts of urgency into a complete game before the gap in the standings grows larger.