Vancouver, which had a seven-game winning streak end with a 9-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, will play the second game of a five-game road trip Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Panthers, who have alternated wins and losses in their past six games, including a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. The Canucks defeated the Panthers 7-2 at Rogers Arena on Oct. 28.
Players to watch
Canucks center Bo Horvat has eight points (two goals, six assists) in a four-game point streak. Panthers forward Mike Hoffman has five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.
They said it
"You fail sometimes when you're trying to get better. You have to get up and get back at it. That's our mentality." -- Canucks forward Antoine Roussel "We can't be happy. You try to establish a great homestand here and now all of a sudden, we've got to look to rectify that with a big effort and a big game (tonight)." -- Panthers coach Joel Quenneville
Neither team held a morning skate. … Demko will start after Markstrom started 13 of the past 14 games. … MacEwen, a center, has been scratched the past seven games since being recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League. … Weegar, a defenseman who practiced in a non-contact jersey Wednesday, will miss his eighth consecutive game.
Stat pack
Pearson needs one goal to become the fourth player selected in the 2012 NHL Draft to reach 100 (Filip Forsberg, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Hertl). … Vancouver's power play is ranked fourth in the NHL (25.5 percent) but is 0-for-7 in its past two games. … Huberdeau needs three points to tie Olli Jokinen (419) for most in Panthers history. … Barkov, who is second on the Panthers with 45 points, has been held without a point for five consecutive games.
