The Florida Panthers continued their final road trip outside of the Eastern Standard time zone on Tuesday night in British Columbia. Despite facing the league-worst Vancouver Canucks, who had only won seven of their 33 home games to date, Florida lost for the second time in as many tries on their road trip, falling 5-2 at Rogers Arena. Vancouver got on the board first after going on the game’s first power play. With Dmitry Kulikov in the penalty box for hooking Linus Karlsson, the Canucks took advantage thanks to a one-timer by forward Elias Pettersson off a nice cross-ice pass from Marco Rossi. The goal made it 1-0 Vancouver just 3:49 into the game. Florida tied the score just past the midway point of the period directly off a Canucks turnover. A clearing attempt by defenseman Elias Pettersson, because there are two guys on the team with the same name, was deflected by Carter Verhaeghe directly to Matthew Tkachuk. A quick shot by Tkachuk beat Kevin Lankinen between the legs to knot the score at one with 8:19 to go in the period. Vinnie Hinostroza was called for a tripping penalty less than a minute later, which led to a second power play goal by the forward Pettersson, restoring the Canucks’ one-goal advantage. They weren’t done there, though, as a Rossi goal late in the period sent Florida into the first intermission down 3-1. A couple nice passes led to Sam Bennett’s 25th goal of the season at the 11:28 mark of the second period, but Vancouver quickly countered thanks to a tally by Aatu Raty less than three minutes later. The Canucks cemented their victory with a goal by Drew O’Connor with 5:35 to go, coming nine seconds after a Matthew Tkachuk slashing penalty had expired. Florida drops to 0-2-0 on their four-game road trip. On to Edmonton. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Seth Jones, Sam Bennett To Return From Injury, Nolan Foote Making Panthers Debut In Vancouver [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/seth-jones-sam-bennett-to-return-from-injury-nolan-foote-making-panthers-debut-in-vancouver] Goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk Sets Panthers AHL Record [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/goaltender-kirill-gerasimyuk-sets-panthers-ahl-record] Road Trip Continues For Panthers As Looking At Standings Now Comes With Different Perspective [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/road-trip-continues-for-panthers-as-looking-at-standings-now-comes-with-different-perspective] Panthers Fans Continue Showing Up For Road Games As Team's Popularity Grows [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-fans-continue-showing-up-for-road-games-as-team-s-popularity-grows] Panthers Open Road Trip With Deflating 6-2 Defeat In Seattle [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-open-road-trip-with-deflating-6-1-defeat-in-seattle] Photo caption: Mar 17, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Florida Panthers forward Tomas Nosek (92), forward A.J. Greer (10) and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium (24) and defenseman Filip Hronek (17) watch as goalie Kevin Lankinen (32) makes a save in the first period at Rogers Arena. (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)
