Vancouver Canucks vs Florida Panthers projected lineup November 17, 2025: injury-riddled rosters meet in Sunrise

The Vancouver Canucks limp into Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night to face a similarly banged-up Florida Panthers squad, both teams patching forward groups with rookies and recalls. Puck drop is 7 p.m. ET on Scripps Sports, the second half of Vancouver’s back-to-back after Sunday’s 6-2 win in Tampa and the front end of a home-and-home set that shifts to British Columbia on Thursday.

Neither morning skate was fully attended—Vancouver opted for off-ice recovery—so the combinations below come from the league’s official game preview, Florida’s on-ice rushes, and the clubs’ post-prone medical reports. Expect tweaks if last-minute tests go south.

Vancouver Canucks projected lineup November 17, 2025

Coach Adam Foote has used seven different top-nine trios in the last nine games, but the unit that closed out the Lightning looks like the one he’ll lean on again versus the Panthers.

Forwards

1. Evander Kane – Elias Pettersson – Kiefer Sherwood
   Pettersson has three multi-point efforts in his past four, while Kane’s straight-line style gives Florida’s smaller puck-moving defense something to worry about.
2. Brock Boeser – Max Sasson – Jake DeBrusk
   Sasson’s face-off percentage (48.7%) isn’t flashy, but his 6-3 frame wins more 50-50 pucks than the man he replaced, the concussed Filip Chytil.
3. Drew O’Connor – Aatu Raty – Arshdeep Bains
   The third line combined for five shots in Tampa; Foote wants a heavier cycle tonight to keep Bobrovsky deep in his crease.
4. Mackenzie MacEachern – David Kampf – Lukas Reichel
   Kampf’s line started every second shift in the defensive zone Sunday; expect the same deployment against Marchand-Lundell.

Defense pairs

• Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek (26:14 TOI per night, tops on the team)
• Marcus Pettersson – Tyler Myers (Myers’ reach will be key versus Verhaeghe’s cut-backs)
• Elias Nils Pettersson – Tom Willander (rookie Willander was plus-3 in his third career game)

Goaltending

Kevin Lankinen is the presumptive starter after stopping 36 of 38 in Tampa. If he goes, it will be his seventh consecutive start and second back-to-back of the month—an early-season workload the staff is monitoring with Thatcher Demko still week-to-week (lower body). Jiri Patera backs up.

Injury/scratch notes

Out: Demko, Conor Garland (tweaked something Sunday, no update), Victor Mancini, Chytil (concussion), Teddy Blueger, Nils Hoglander, Derek Forbort.
Healthy: P.O Joseph, Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains (rotating spot with Reichel).

Florida Panthers projected lineup November 17, 2025

Paul Maurice’s group is 4-1-1 at home but missing three of its top four scorers from last season. The coach warned reporters at the morning skate that “nothing is set in stone past the first line,” yet the rushes pointed to these combinations:

Forwards

1. Mackie Samoskevich – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
   With Barkov and Tkachuk rehabbing, Marchand has been asked to drive play from the wall; Samoskevich, a 2021 third-rounder, gets his first look on line one.
2. Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart
   Reinhart leads the club with nine goals; Verhaeghe’s shot share (56.1 CF%) is best among regular forwards.
3. A.J. Greer – Sam Bennett – Jesper Boqvist
   Physical trio that averaged 3.8 hits per game over the last five; Maurice wants them to target Vancouver’s young right side.
4. Noah Gregor – Cole Schwindt – Luke Kunin
   Schwindt was recalled from Charlotte after Luostarinen’s lower-body issue flared up; Kunin kills penalties and takes key right-side draws.

Defense pairs

• Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad (team-low 2.18 expected goals against/60)
• Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones (Jones logging 24:49 a night, his highest since 2021-22)
• Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry (Petry’s 1,000th NHL game—he becomes the 405th skater to reach the mark)

Goaltending

Sergei Bobrovsky is back after a maintenance day Saturday. In his last four starts he owns a .937 save percentage and two shutouts. Daniil Tarasov is the backup.

Injury/scratch notes

Out: Aleksander Barkov (knee, 3-4 weeks), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body, week-to-week), Eetu Luostarinen (day-to-day), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body).
Scratched: Donovan Sebrango (Balinskis in).

Key matchups and tactical notes

• Special teams: Vancouver’s power play clicked at 28.6% on the road trip, Hughes-Pettersson-Boeser the constant trio. Florida’s penalty kill sits 24th (76.1%) and surrendered two goals in Saturday’s loss to Toronto.
• Rookie watch: Vancouver’s Willander and Florida’s Samoskevich both draw top-line minutes—rare for two 21-year-olds in the same non-conference game.
• Face-off circle: Without Barkov, Florida’s draw percentage drops to 48.2%; Lundell must hold his own against Pettersson (52.4%).
• Fatigue factor: Canucks played 24 hours ago and travelled across the state; Maurice will use last-change to get Ekblad out against Kane’s line.

Betting odds and analytics (via FHN)

• Moneyline: Panthers -300, Canucks +220
• Puck line: Florida -1.5 (-115)
• Over/under: 6.5 (over +105)
• Micah Blake McCurtain’s model gives Florida a 64% win probability, citing goaltending health and home rest.

What the coaches said

> “We’re asking a lot of our young guys, but they’re earning the minutes. If you can skate with Marchand at morning skate, you can skate with him when the points matter.”
> — Paul Maurice on Mackie Samoskevich

> “We don’t have the luxury of waiting for bodies. Every night someone new has to make an impact. Last night it was Willander, tonight maybe it’s Reichel or Raty.”
> — Adam Foote

Links for further reading

• Catch up on Vancouver’s previous stop in our breakdown of the Canucks at Hurricanes projected lineup November 14, 2025.
• Revisit how the top-six looked earlier in the trip in the Avalanche vs Canucks preview November 9, 2025.

Final takeaway

The scoreboard may hinge on which team’s infirmary empties first. Vancouver’s speed and red-hot power play give it a puncher’s chance, yet Florida’s rested top goalie and last-change advantage tilt the ice. If Lankinen can duplicate Sunday’s heroics and the Canucks convert an early man-advantage, the Cats’ patchwork top six could tighten up. Otherwise, expect Bobrovsky to celebrate Petry’s milestone with a low-scoring win that keeps Florida above .500 before the cross-continent rematch in three nights.