Vancouver Canucks vs. Florida Panthers Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 17th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Florida Panthers, led by the red-hot center Sam Reinhart, are scheduled to return to their home arena in Sunrise for Thursday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
During their recent four-game road trip, the Panthers went 2-2-0, and they will enter Thursday's game with a chance to secure their third consecutive victory.
Reinhart, who finished second in the NHL last season with 57 goals, has been on fire this season with eight points (four goals, four assists) in just five games.
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According to Panthers coach Paul Maurice, Reinhart still has room for improvement and will continue to learn and develop as a player. He also praised Reinhart's high level of intelligence and ability to work well with his linemates.
Due to some injuries and illnesses within the team, Reinhart has had to step up and take on a larger role. Center Aleksander Barkov is expected to be out for at least two weeks with a lower-body injury, while winger Matthew Tkachuk has missed three games due to an illness. These two players combined for 49 goals and 119 assists last season.
However, Reinhart is not just a scorer. He has also been a key player on the penalty kill, with two of his four goals this season coming while the Panthers were short-handed. Last season, he led the league with 27 power-play goals.
With Reinhart on the ice during 5-on-5 play this season, the Panthers have dominated their opponents, outscoring them 6-1 and outshooting them 31-19.
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has also expressed his appreciation for Reinhart, who recently signed an eight-year contract extension. Bobrovsky praised Reinhart's defensive skills, goal-scoring abilities, and leadership in the locker room.
Bobrovsky, who has a 2-1-0 record with a 3.02 goals-against average and .894 save percentage, is expected to start in goal for the Panthers on Thursday. His backup, Spencer Knight, got the win in their last game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On the other hand, the Canucks have had a rough start to their season, losing all three of their games so far.
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Their most recent loss was a 4-1 defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the first game of their four-game road trip.
Vancouver's only goal in that game came from Conor Garland on a power play in the third period. However, head coach Rick Tocchet was not pleased with his team's performance, particularly in the first period.
Garland, who scored by sneaking behind the Tampa Bay goalie and pushing in a loose puck, agreed with his coach's assessment and acknowledged that the team needs to improve their starts.
The Canucks will need to regroup quickly if they hope to defeat the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, who have a perfect 1-0-0 record at home this season.
Vancouver's top scorers so far this season have been forwards Conor Garland and Brock Boeser, with two goals each and three points each.
The Canucks have split their goaltending duties between Arturs Silovs (0-1-1, 4.50 GAA, .830) and Kevin Lankinen (0-0-1, 1.85 GAA, .935). Silovs took the loss in their last game against Tampa Bay, giving up three goals on 26 shots.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Florida Panthers
Noel Acciari scored twice and Sergei Bobrovsky made a triumphant return to the lineup as the host Florida Panthers defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, on Thursday night at Sunrise, Fla.
Acciari, a free-agent signee after playing for the Boston Bruins the past four years, has 17 goals this season and 12 in his past 12 games. Before this season, he had scored just 18 goals in 180 games.
Bobrovsky was bypassed the past two games as Florida went with rookie Chris Driedger. The most recent game for Bobrovsky had been Saturday, when he was pulled after making just four saves and allowing three goals. This time, Bobrovsky made 30 saves to beat Vancouver.
The Panthers also got goals from Mark Pysyk, Evgenii Dadonov - who leads the team with 19 scores - and Mike Hoffman. Jonathan Huberdeau added two assists and is one point away from tying Olli Jokinen for the career record for the franchise.
Vancouver got goals from Brock Boeser and Tyler Motte. Goalie Thatcher Demko made 44 saves.
The Canucks, who entered the state on a seven-game win streak earlier this week, have now lost two straight contests. The other defeat was 9-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
Florida, which has alternated a win with a loss for seven straight games, needed just 60 seconds to get on the board as Vinny Trocheck's forecheck created a Loui Eriksson turnover behind Vancouver's net. From there, it was an easy goal for Acciari, who was alone in front.
The Panthers made it 2-0 with just 3:01 expired in the first. Playing against Vancouver's top line, fourth-line center Colton Sceviour broke out on the left wing and fed ahead to Pysyk, who redirected the puck for his third goal of the season.
Vancouver cut its deficit to 2-1 with 6:51 gone in the first as Boeser deflected a long shot by Tyler Myers.
Florida missed a pair of golden opportunities to make it 3-1 as Hoffman hit the post, and Aleksander Barkov's shorthanded, breakaway attempt was stuffed by Demko. Barkov, who scored a career-high 35 goals last season, is now on a six-game goal drought.
However, despite those misses, the Panthers persisted, and Barkov dished to Dadonov on an odd-man rush, giving Florida that coveted 3-1 lead with 67 seconds left in the first.
Then, after a slashing penalty on Vancouver's Antoine Roussel, Florida made it 4-1 with 3:40 expired in the second. Huberdeau stickhandled through a couple of Canucks players and fed Hoffman, whose one-timer from the right circle hit the back of the net.
The teams traded third-period goals - Acciari and Motte - and Florida held on from there.