The Vancouver Canucks (20-38-8) host the Florida Panthers (33-30-3) in Rogers Arena tonight. Puck drop is set for 7 PM PT.

Tonight will be part one of two of Florida-based teams hitting the ice in Rogers Arena.

It was an optional morning skate for the Canucks this morning. Thirteen skaters and both goaltenders were on the ice this morning: Brock Boeser, Liam Öhgren, Drew O’Connor, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, Nils Höglander, Aatu Räty, Curtis Douglas, Zeev Buium, Tom Willander, Elias Pettersson (D), Victor Mancini, PO Joseph, Kevin Lankinen and Nikita Tolopilo.

The big news of the day was that PO Joseph returned to the ice in a red non-contract jersey. Joseph was injured in the third period against the Dallas Stars on March 2 and has missed the following six games.

The only lineup change for tonight will see Höglander slot into the lineup for Douglas. Höglander has served as a healthy scratch for the last two games. It’s been a rough season for Höglander after suffering a pre-season injury that held him out of the lineup until December. It took him 14 games to register his first point, and 22 appearances before he potted his first goal. With numerous healthy scratches throughout his season, Höglander has just one goal and three points in 25 games.

As head coach Adam Foote confirmed following Monday’s practice, Kevin Lankinen (7-21-5) will get the start in net. Lankinen has been playing his best hockey of the season over his last two starts, stopping 55 of the 59 shots he faced for a .932 save percentage against the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators. He will look to keep his good play rolling against a Panthers team that he has an impressive history against. He has won five straight contests against them, a 1.19 goals against average, and a .967 save percentage with two shutouts.

The Öhgren-Rossi-Boeser line has been the Canucks’ best line over the past few games. Boeser leads the group with six points over his last six games, Rossi has three points in his last two games, while Öhgren picked up the primary assist on Rossi’s goal in their lone win over Nashville Predators in their last four games.

According to Monday’s practice line rushes, here are the projected lines for tonight’s game:

The Panthers kick off their four-game Western road trip on Sunday against the Seattle Kraken with a 6-2 loss. The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champs are dealing with seven injuries, leaving a lot of question marks surrounding how the Panthers will line up tonight.

Florida will be without both of their top two scorers for tonight’s contest. West Vancouver native Sam Reinhart (29G + 32A = 61P) was ruled out for this four-game Western road trip with what head coach Paul Maurice detailed as “more than one thing” that he is dealing with. Brad Marchand (27G + 27A = 54P) also missed Sunday’s contest and has since been placed on injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site. Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen, and Niko Mikkola will also miss tonight’s contest.

However, they will be getting reinforcements, as the team confirmed that Sam Bennett and Seth Jones will both return. Canucks head coach Adam Foote’s son, Nolan Foote, will also be making his Panthers debut tonight.

Bennett missed just one game against the Kraken on Sunday. Jones has been out of the Panthers’ lineup with an upper-body injury since January 2, which kept him from representing the USA at the Olympics. Bennett has 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points, while Jones has six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 40 games this season.

Sergei Bobrovsky, wearing his bright red pads, was the first goalie off the ice at Panthers morning skate and will be tonight’s starter.

It’s been a down season for Bobrovsky. After two previous strong seasons with 30+ wins, a below 2.50 goals against average and an above .905 save percentage, Bobrovsky (24-19-1) has a 3.03 goals against average and a .878 save percentage. However, he’s starting to find his form, allowing just one goal in back-to-back starts and finishing with save percentages of .966 and .968, respectively.

Coming off an Olympic Gold Medal, Matthew Tkachuk has been carrying the offence for the Panthers. In the nine games since the break, Tkachuk has five goals and seven assists for 12 points.

The Panthers will wrap up their road trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday and the Calgary Flames on Friday.

It was a scoring spree when the Canucks and Panthers faced off in mid-November. Florida potted eight goals en route to an 8-5 victory over Vancouver, in what was Jiri Patera’s only start of the season. Before this, the Canucks had the Panthers’ number, winning four of their previous head-to-head meetings during their two Stanley Cup-winning seasons.

Adam Foote on what he needs to see from Höglander during the final stretch of the season: “Just what we’ve always talked about. He did a lot of great things offensively down low. There’s a couple things, you know, getting caught down low and in double ups and losing possession in the offensive zone, and or managing the puck at the offensive blue line. Things that we want to snuff out will make him more consistent and more reliable. We’ve had discussion with that and that’ll change his game.”

Mancini on how he’s feeling with the systems now that he has a few games under his belt: “I’m feeling more and more comfortable each day. I think with every game, I’m still learning things, right? Trying to just put together everything that I’ve learned. I’m feeling more comfortable with the puck in my hands, but at the same time, when I’m using my feet, and I’m playing fast, that’s when I feel the most confident.”