The Vancouver Canucks will face one of their greatest challenges yet on the young season tonight, as they prepare for a showdown with the surging Florida Panthers.
Both teams have missed the playoffs in each of the last three years. The Canucks and Panthers each made plenty of big-time offseason acquisitions, adding talent around their young cores in hopes of taking that next step.
So far, the blockbuster moves have paid off for both clubs. The Canucks are 6-3-1 and only four points out of first place in the Pacific Division. The Panthers are on an eight-game point streak, with wins in three of their last four games.