Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens Continue to Own Florida Panthers
SUNRISE — Sometimes, one team just has another’s number, and that seems to be the case this season when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers.
Montreal may be fighting for its playoff life, but their three wins against the Panthers has certainly helped the effort.
After losing to the Canadiens 4-2 on Sunday afternoon, the Panthers were probably glad to see them go.
Only the two teams play again Tuesday night in Montreal.
No way the Canadiens will win all four games between the two, right?
Right?
“No excuses,’’ said Sasha Barkov, who was playing in his 800th NHL game. “They played better than us in all three games.
“We obviously had some good moments in the game, but we couldn’t score more than them. They hung in, got the goals they needed. They play really hard, their [playoff] lives are on the line. We have to be better, that’s all.”
Montreal outplayed the Panthers in the first two wins earlier this season but Sunday was pretty tight.
Still, the Canadiens never trailed Sunday.
Montreal had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 with Sam Reinhart and Seth Jones tying it up for the Panthers.
But Nick Suzuki one-timed a Lane Hutson feed from the bottom of the left circle just over 2 minutes into the third.
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An empty-net goal later, and the Canadiens were 3-0 against the defending Stanley Cup champs and snapped Florida’s seven-game home winning streak.
The two teams play again on Tuesday night.
The Canadiens have not swept the reigning Stanley Cup champions since they won three against the Edmonton Oilers during the 1987-88 series.
Montreal’s first two goals came on the power play with Suzuki and Hutson having three-point days.
“This was a pretty good 5-on-5 game I would say,” said Paul Maurice, who wasn’t in the greatest of moods in the postgame. “We are fine. We have played in a lot of tight games; that’s just the style of hockey that we play, and it was even.”
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); Canadiens 4, Panthers 2 (March 30).
- All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 58-42-11, 6 ties
- Up Next for the Panthers: Wednesday at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7:30 p.m.
The Cats can’t handle the opponents speed and physicality. The secret is out.
I’m tired of hearing we will flip the switch when the playoffs start. If we can’t beat Montreal who may not even make the playoffs, how can we beat Tampa or Toronto who we will most likely have to face in the 1st two rounds and then the Caps if we get that far.
We aren’t very hard to play against lately. Is it just because Chucky is out of the lineup? That shouldn’t be an excuse, we have plenty of players that are gritty enough in his absence. Are they just trying to save energy for the playoffs? I just hope they can turn the intensity back up when it matters.
I say again. I don’t think Panther fans really realize how much we miss Ekblad when he is out of the lineup, its easier to just pick on the couple mistakes he makes, instead of notice all the little things he does to keep the puck from getting to the net in high danger shots and moving the puck out of the zone as well. Now, add in that we are missing Kuli as well…. Now you will say they’re not forwards and what about scoring goals, well, it all has to work together, plus the F group is missing… Read more »
Paul Maurice keeps saying they’re ok, but to me defensively they are not. The Ekblad suspension could not have come at a worse time. They are giving up too many odd-man rushes, putting way too much pressure on Bob!
These final games, especially the next 4 on the road, are significant for seeding purposes; as well as the team’s overall attitude going into playoffs!!