Panthers continue road trip in Vancouver on night Canucks honor Roberto Luongo
Florida will look to continue its solid defensive play and avoid a second consecutive loss on the ongoing road trip
The Florida Panthers will be looking to get back on the right track after Tuesday’s uncharacteristic 4-0 loss in Seattle when they begin the international portion of their five-game road trip.
Florida will kick things off on Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
In addition to the battle between two of the top teams in their respective divisions, the Canucks will be honoring Hall of Fame goaltender and current Panthers executive Roberto Luongo, who played for both Florida and Vancouver.
The team will be adding Luongo to the Canucks Ring of Honour at Rogers Arena.
It’s just the latest in an appropriate string of accolades for Luongo, who was one of the best and most consistent goaltenders of his, and any, generation.
Last November he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and in February of 2020 his No. 1 was retired by the Panthers and raised to the rafters at what is now Amerant Bank Arena (at the time it was the BB&T Center).
It was in that building earlier this season that Vancouver defeated the Panthers 5-3 back on Oct. 21.
Prior to that, Florida had beaten the Canucks five consecutive times, dating all the way back to January of 2020.
Vancouver has enjoyed a strong start to the 2023-24 season, holding a 19-9-1 record and sitting in second place of the Pacific Division.
They enter Thursday’s matchup with Florida riding a three-game winning streak, all on home ice, where the Canucks hold an 11-3-1 record on the year.
On the flip side, Florida owns a solid 8-5-2 record away from home, which is good for the seventh-most road wins in the NHL.
A big part of their road success is due to the way the Panthers defend.
Entering play Thursday, Florida has surrendered an average of just 2.40 goals against on the road, which is tied with Philadelphia for the second-fewest in the NHL.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings ahead of Thursday’s game in Vancouver:
Carter Verhaeghe – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Nick Cousins – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Evan Rodrigues
Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Uvis Balinskis
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