NHL Predictions with Florida Panthers at Vancouver Canucks

2025-2026 Season Series: Florida 1-0 Vancouver

Time: 10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) | 7:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)

How to Watch: Sportsnet+, SN, SCRIPPS, ESPN+, NHL Centre Ice

Location: Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia

The Vancouver Canucks host the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, on Tuesday night. Florida sits at 33-30-3 after 66 games, with 69 points, while Vancouver sits at 20-38-8 after 66 games, with 48 points. This is the second and final meeting between these two teams. Florida won in a wild first meeting, 8-5, on November 17th.

The Panthers Story

Despite having just one fewer win than the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Florida Panthers find themselves 14 points beneath them in the standings, and second last in the East. However, if they were in the Western Conference, they would just be two points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot. That shows the disparity between the conferences this season, but the reality is, they will likely be missing the playoffs this year. It does not mean that they have a bad roster, but not having Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk for the majority of the season did not help.

While players like Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand have made up for the gap in offence and have had great seasons, Florida has struggled defensively. They were seventh in the league last season in goals against per game at 2.72, but this season, they are 26th in the league in that category, with 3.32 goals against per game. Goaltending has also not been great, with Sergei Bobrovsky not having a good season whatsoever. This season is a lost season for them, but they could easily rebound next season.

The Canucks Story

Vancouver suffered a tough loss against a desperate Seattle Kraken team on Saturday, but the team is trusting the process. The young players are having fun and building chemistry with the veterans of the team. In particular, Marco Rossi is finally starting to find his game again. He has two goals and three assists for five points in his last five games, and has played well alongside Liam Ohgren and Brock Boeser on his line. Boeser also has five points in his last five games, with three goals and two assists.

Starting Goalies

Below are the projected starters for tonight’s game. Please check social media for the most updated information before locking in your daily fantasy lineups.

Florida will likely start veteran Sergei Bobrovsky in the net. In 45 games this season, he has a 24-19-1 record, a 3.03 goals-against average, and an .878 save percentage. As a goaltender who backstopped his team to consecutive championships, this has been a down year for him.

For Vancouver, Kevin Lankinen is confirmed to get the start, per Adam Foote. In 36 games this season, he has a 7-21-5 record, a 3.65 goals-against average, and an .877 save percentage. He has lost eight consecutive starts, but in his last two starts, he has only given up four goals on 59 shots. His last win was on January 21st. In an interview with Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, Lankinen reflected on his season so far. “…we haven’t been winning enough, and I’m a big part of the team, and I take responsibility for that. I take it seriously,” said Lankinen after practice on Monday.

Prediction and Best Bets

Despite likely not being a playoff team this year, the Panthers are still a strong group. They should be able to overpower a young Canucks squad, which lacks the necessary firepower to compete effectively.

Prediction: Panthers win 5-3.

Best Bets

To wrap things up, here are our anytime goal scorer picks. For Florida, we will pick Sam Reinhart to get a goal. For Vancouver, we will count on Brock Boeser to keep up his hot streak with a goal.

Main photo by: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

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