PANTHERS (33-30-3) at CANUCKS (20-38-8)

10 p.m. ET; SNP, SCRIPPS

Two teams on the downward slope enter the rink. Both teams leave. Both trending lower than before.

Canucks - worst team in the league - have the slight chance of knocking off the defending Cup champs. Champs that can't get the trifecta - no Stanley Dynasty for you!

As bad as the Canucks have been this season, could say the Cats drop from hockey champs to not making the playoffs is worse.

Of course, it's not worse. But, let's pretend it is.

Is this the end of an era for SoBeach? We don't care.

We have our own era end to endure. Much like all the other Nucks eras, likely won't end well. That's some cold comfort to toss on the frozen basement floor.

Nucks will win or not win this game. Winning or losing is no longer important. The development of the young Nucks is the important part now. With Footey coaching, JR/PA disrespecting their players, seems the development curve might be long and tortuous. How nice for us.

Game Day Chatter

Tonight's #Canucks vs Panthers game will feature Game 800 (Sergei Bobrovsky) versus Game 200 (Kevin Lankinen)

— Adam Kierszenblat (@adamkblat.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 12:41 PM

The #Canucks are going up against the #Panthers tonight. They are 3rd in PIMs and 2nd in fighting majors Foote: *scratches the big guy who fights* Here is a chance to give the fans something exciting to watch, but they decide that's not in the best interest for a team desperate to get fans excited

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— 🇨🇦 Trent Leith 🏳️‍🌈 (@trentleith.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 11:59 AM

Fight 18 year old Sam Bennet? We've been doing that for a decade, at least.

Game Day Lineups

Panthers projected lineup

Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk

Jesper Boqvist -- Anton Lundell -- Mackie Samoskevich

Nolan Foote -- Luke Kunin -- Vinnie Hinostroza

Cole Reinhardt -- Tomas Nosek -- A.J. Greer

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Seth Jones -- Dmitry Kulikov

Donovan Sebrango -- Mike Benning

Sergei Bobrovsky

Daniil Tarasov

Scratched: Niko Mikkola, Eetu Luostarinen, Evan Rodrigues

Injured: Sam Reinhart (undisclosed), Uvis Balinskis (lower body), Brad Marchand (lower body), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Drew O’Connor

Liam Ohgren -- Marco Rossi -- Brock Boeser

Max Sasson -- Teddy Blueger -- Linus Karlsson

Nils Hoglander -- Aatu Raty -- Evander Kane

Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek

Marcus Pettersson -- Tom Willander

Zeev Buium -- Victor Mancini

Kevin Lankinen

Nikita Tolopilo

Scratched: Curtis Douglas

Injured: P.O Joseph (upper body), Filip Chytil (facial fracture), Thatcher Demko (hip surgery), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)

Status report

Jones will return after missing 26 games with a collarbone injury. ... Foote, the son of Canucks coach Adam Foote, will make his Panthers debut after being called up from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Sunday. … Bennett will return after missing a 6-2 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Sunday because of an undisclosed injury. … DeBrusk will move from the fourth to the first line, swapping places with Kane, and Hoglander will play after two games as a healthy scratch in place of Douglas, a forward claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 6.

Game Day Battle Hymn

A single hymn at this point in the season? Seems cheap and stingy. David Lindley (RIP) and Wally Ingram can entertain us for an hour. Just like the Canucks - altho they still prefer the 10 minute game format.

Happy St Patty's Day! F*uck the war mongering fascists and enjoy the game.