Montreal Canadiens Take Down the Florida Panthers. Again

SUNRISE — The Montreal Canadiens continue to give the Florida Panthers problems.

After beating the Panthers in their first two meetings this season, Montreal held a lead three times Sunday afternoon and held on for a 4-2 win.

The Panthers had won seven straight home games; the Canadiens had lost their previous five.

Florida hits the road for a four-game road trip, one which starts Tuesday in Montreal.

The Canadiens took a 1-0 and 2-1 lead off power play goals from Patrik Laine and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Sam Reinhart tied the score at 1 in the first, with Seth Jones teeing off on a feed from Sasha Barkov to make it 2-2 in the second.

Barkov was playing in his 800th NHL game.

Nick Suzuki, who had a three-point game, scored the game-winner at 2:02 of the third.

With the win, the Canadiens took the final wild-card spot in the East over the Rangers; Florida remains a point back of Toronto for first in the Atlantic Division.

The Panthers visit Montreal on Tuesday, then play the Leafs on Wednesday.

NOTES: CANADIENS @ PANTHERS

• Laine and Barkov are friends, so it was fitting that Laine got his 85th power-play goal on the day Barkov played in his 800th game. With 85 power-play goals, Laine passed Barkov (84) for fifth most in NHL history by a Finnish player.
• Lane Hutson, a defenseman, had three assists on Sunday and leads all rookies with 59 points.

HOW THEY SCORED

• Canadiens 1, Panthers 0 (12:03 1st PP): Patrik Laine rips one from the left circle getting his 15th power-play goal — out of 19 total — this season.
• Panthers 1, Canadiens 1 (13:16 1st): Sam Reinhart picks up a turnover deep in the zone, drives to the net and beats Sam Montembeault with a slick backhanded shot.
• Canadiens 2, Panthers 1 (11:27 2nd PP): Juraj Slafkovsky sends a cross-crease feed that clips the skate of Seth Jones blocking in front and gets past Sergei Bobrovsky.
• Panthers 2, Canadiens 2 (16:25 2nd): Jones absolutely smokes a feed from Sasha Barkov and beats Montembeault 5-hole.
• Canadiens 3, Panthers 2 (2:02 3rd): Nick Suzuki got his third point of the day, one-timing Lane Hutson’s feed. Hutson got his third assist.
• Canadiens 4, Panthers 2 (18:16 3rd EN): Brendan Gallagher ices it.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Nick Suzuki, Montreal
• 2. Lane Hutson, Montreal
• 3. Sasha Barkov, Florida

ON DECK: GAME No. 74

FLORIDA PANTHERS at MONTREAL CANADIENS 

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Bell Centre, Montreal
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FtL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla) 
• Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Florida won 3-1
• This Season (Canadiens Lead 3-0) — At Montreal: Canadiens 3, Panthers 1 (March 15); Tuesday. At Florida: Canadiens 4, Panthers 0 (Dec. 28); Sunday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 58-42-11, 6 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Wednesday at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m.