RECAP: Canadiens 4, Panthers 2

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers saw their home winning streak snapped at seven games with a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday.

Following the loss, the Panthers now sit in third place in the Atlantic Division at 44-26-3.

With nine games left in the season, they currently find themselves just one point behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for first.

Across the ice, Montreal moved back into a wild-card spot at 34-30-9.

“They’re a good team,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the Canadiens, who’ve gone 3-0-0 against the Panthers this season. “They’re battling for their playoff lives. They always play us really well. It’s for us to stick to our game and play a little harder.”

One of the few teams to break through Florida’s penalty kill in March, the Canadiens opened the scoring when Patrik Laine teed up a pass from rookie Lane Hutson and blasted a one-timer into the twine from the left circle to make it 1-0 at 12:03 of the first period.

Responding for the Panthers a little over a minute later, Sam Reinhart took a pass from Aleksander Barkov, who showcased his elite forechecking to force a turnover in Montreal’s zone, and beat Sam Montembeault with a backhand from the slot to make it 1-1 at 13:16.

His 36^th goal of the season, Reinhart has lit the lamp three times in his last three games.

On the power play once again in the second period, the Canadiens regained the lead for a bit when Juraj Slafkovsky fired a sharp-angle shot from the right side of the net that caught just a piece of Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads before sliding across the goal line to make it 2-1 at 11:25.

Entering the matchup, Florida had ranked first in the NHL on the penalty kill in March.

“It’s the penalty kill, which has been incredibly good for us,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the keys in defeat. “We got a tough break on the second [goal], but that’ll be a decider.”

At 16:23, Seth Jones tied the game again with a big slap shot from the point to make it 2-2.

Skating in his 800^th career NHL game, Barkov recorded the primary assist on the goal.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Verhaeghe said of Barkov, who’s captained the Panthers since 2018. “He’s such a humble guy and a phenomenal hockey player. The best part about him is how humble he is and how funny he is coming to the rink every day.”

Breaking the tie two minutes into the third period, Nick Suzuki sent the Canadiens ahead when he beat Bobrovsky with a blistering one-timer from the left circle to make it 3-2.

Recording his third assist of the game, Hutson upped his point total to 59, which is the most by a rookie defenseman in a season since Nicklas Lidstrom had 60 in 1991-92.

Trying to find the equalizer, the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for a 6-on-5 advantage late in regulation. But after blocking a point shot, the Canadiens put the game away when Brendan Gallagher sent the puck into Florida’s empty net to make it 4-2 at 1:44.

Despite losing the special teams battle, the Panthers were encouraged by their play at 5-on-5, where they led the Canadiens 28-18 in scoring chances and 66-40 in shot attempts.

“This was a pretty good 5-on-5 game, I would say,” Maurice said. “Through two [periods] anyway, we were fine. We play in a lot of tight games. That’s the style of hockey that we play. It was even. It’s going to be one break.”

Closing out their home-and-home, the Panthers will visit Montreal on Tuesday.

“It’ll be nice to get them back on their home ice,” Verhaeghe said.

THEY SAID IT

“Playing in as many tight games as we possibly can, that’s the key piece to right now.” – Paul Maurice on what he’s looking for down the homestretch

“They have a really good power play and really skilled players. For us, we’ve got to be ready for a really good matchup.” – Carter Verhaeghe on the challenge posed by the Canadiens

CATS STATS

- The Panthers led 14-4 in shot attempts when Nico Sturm was deployed at 5-on-5.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made six high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

- Every Panthers forward recorded at least one hit.

- The Canadiens blocked 23 of Florida’s shots.

- The Panthers allowed multiple power-play goals for just the seventh time this season.

- Aleksander Barkov registered his 18^th multi-point game of the season.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The schedule is getting thin.

Packing their bags for their last multi-game road trip of the regular season, the Panthers will kick things off with a rematch against the Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, click HERE.