MONTREAL – The Florida Panthers will close out the Canadian portion of their six-game road trip with a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.
While the Panthers have their sights set on first place in the Atlantic Division, the Canadiens also have playoff aspirations and are chasing down a wild-card spot.
From this point on, pretty much every team is playing for something.
“I feel like all the games we have left, the points matter,” forward Jesper Boqvist said. “It’s huge for both teams. It’s going to be a fun one, for sure.”
After snapping their winning streak at six games with a loss at Boston to start their trip, the Panthers got right back to work with a 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Thursday.
Falling behind 1-0 just two minutes into the first period, the Panthers didn’t give the Maple Leafs much to work with from that moment on. Leading the charge up front, Sam Bennett scored a pair of power-play goals in the win, while Niko Mikkola also touched the twine.
Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Reinhart each had two assists.
Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky, who will man the crease in Montreal, made 24 saves to earn his 424th career win and break a tie with Tony Esposito to claim sole possession of 10th place on the NHL’s all-time list.
Defensively, the Panthers limited Toronto to just 36 shot attempts at 5-on-5.
Doing a lot of damage on offense since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off, Bennett has logged a team-high nine points (four goals, five assists) over the last eight games. In that same stretch, Aleksander Barkov and Reinhart have each registered eight points.
At 41-22-3, the Panthers lead the Maple Leafs by four points for first place in the Atlantic.
“We’ve got to stick what we do best,” forward A.J. Greer said. “That level of competitiveness and that level of drive is what’s going to come out of tonight, whether we want it or not. It’s got to be right away. It’s a good skilled team.”
Hoping to muscle their way into the playoff mix, the Canadiens currently sit just one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Catching fire at the right time, Montreal has gone 6-2-2 over its last 10 games.
Leaving a key point on the table, the Canadiens suffered a 5-4 overtime loss at Seattle in their last outing on Wednesday. After falling behind 2-0, Montreal took the lead on goals from Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook and Juraj Slafkovsky, who scored twice to make it 4-2.
But after surrendering two late goals, Montreal ended up in overtime.
Netting the fastest overtime goal in NHL history, former Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour caught the Canadiens sleeping off the opening draw and beat goaltender Jakub Dobes on a breakaway just four seconds into the extra frame to lock in the 5-4 win for the Kraken.
Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in assists (49) and points (69), while Cole Caufield is first in goals (32) and second in points (59). Sitting third in scoring, defenseman Lane Hutson is making a case for the Calder Trophy, notching 51 points (four goals, 47 assists) as a rookie.
Sam Montembeault is expected to start for Montreal.
This season, he sits 23-21-4 with a .900 save percentage.
One of three games left against the Canadiens for the Panthers this season, Montreal came out on top in their first matchup, earning a 4-0 win at Amerant Bank Arena back on Dec. 28.
“It’s always exciting to play here,” Boqvist said. “Its’ a great building and a good team. Obviously, they beat us last time, so we have to get back at them.”
THEY SAID IT
“It’s huge. If I told myself [that] when I was 10, I’d be super happy, and I am. I don’t take it for granted. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and hopefully more fun to come.” – Jesper Boqvist on skating in his 300th NHL game tonight
“You’re fighting to get your game right. Really interesting for us. The last time we played them, I thought that was the major shift in their game.” – Paul Maurice on facing the Canadiens
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers are 9-6-1 against Atlantic Division opponents this season.
- Jesper Boqvist is expected to skate in his 300th career NHL game tonight.
- Since the start of the 2020-21 season, the Panthers are 10-3-0 vs. Montreal.
- Sam Reinhart has scored a team-leading 19 goals on the road.
- Aleksander Barkov has posted six points (3G, 3A) in his last five contests.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Seth Jones
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Uvis Balinskis – Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- March 7: Acquired forward Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins for a conditional 2027 second-round selection
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, March 15 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Bell Centre – Montreal, QC
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, NHL Network (out of market)
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT-AM & 1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM App & Streaming 931
Cats on Tap: Click Here
