Seth Jones and Sam Bennett Return as Nolan Foote Makes Panthers Debut in Vancouver

The Florida Panthers are shaking up their lineup ahead of a crucial matchup against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. After a lengthy recovery from a broken collarbone, defenseman Seth Jones is set to make his return. Jones, who suffered the injury during the NHL Winter Classic on January 2, has been sidelined for approximately ten weeks. “We thought it was going to be about a 3-4 week injury, and it’s been a couple months,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “He’s excited to get back in. He’s 100% healthy.”

Joining Jones in the lineup are forward Sam Bennett and rookie Nolan Foote. Bennett, who was injured during Florida’s recent victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, missed Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken. Meanwhile, Foote is poised to make his Panthers debut after being called up from AHL Charlotte earlier this week. Interestingly, he will be facing the Canucks, coached by his father, Adam Foote.

Foote, who signed a one-year, two-way deal with Florida in July, has been impressive in the AHL, tallying 14 goals and 32 points in 54 games with the Checkers. Maurice expressed optimism about Foote’s potential impact, stating, “He’s a big man, he can get on the body and he’s got some hands, so that’s all we want to see. Keep his game as simple as he possibly can so he can go as fast as he possibly can and his linemates can read off him, and then make a difference on the forecheck.”

To make room for these additions, the Panthers will be without forwards Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen, as well as defenseman Niko Mikkola. According to Jameson Olive from Florida’s morning skate, the team’s lines and pairings are shaping up as follows:

• Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
• Jesper Boqvist – Anton Lundell – Mackie Samoskevich
• A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Cole Reinhardt
• Nolan Foote – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
• Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
• Dmitry Kulikov – Seth Jones
• Donovan Sebrango – Mike Benning

The puck drops from Rogers Arena in Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET, as the Panthers look to rebound from their recent setback.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.