The Florida Panthers ran into a very hungry Montreal Canadiens squad on Sunday afternoon in Sunrise.
Desperate to maintain their spot as the final Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference, Montreal played a tough, desperate game and took down the Panthers 4-2 at Amerant Bank Arena.
The win put an end to Florida’s home winning streak at seven games.
Patrik Laine put the Habs on the scoreboard first, cashing in on a power play goal with Tobias Bjornfot in the penalty box for high-sticking.
Laine was down near the goal line and one-timed a pass from rookie Lane Hutson past Sergei Bobrovsky at the 12:03 mark of the opening period.
Just 73 seconds later, Sasha Barkov picked up a loose puck behind Montreal net and quickly fed Sam Reinhart in front.
Reino’s backhand shot eluded the glove of Sam Montembeault and quickly tied the game at one.
Another Montreal power play goal, this one by Juraj Slafkovsky, put the Habs back in front just past the game’s midway point.
Seth Jones tied the game with 3:35 left in the second period when he one-timed a quick feed from Barkov through Montembeault’s pads.
A goal just 2:02 into the third period by Nick Suzuki would prove to be the game-winner as Montreal did a great job limiting Florida’s opportunities the rest of the day.
Brandon Gallagher added an empty-net goal for good measure, his 18th tally the season.
These same two teams will face off again on Tuesday from Montreal.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Jones now has two goals and an assist over his past give games.
Barkov is now riding a modest three-game point streak, with four assists during the run.
He’s also got two goals and seven points over his past six games.
Carter Verhaeghe picked up an assist on Reinhart’s goal, his first point in six games and only his third during 13 games in March.
Reinhart has now scored four goals over his past six games.
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