Florida was quick to respond, however. Anton Lundell evened things at one apiece not three minutes later.
That was how was the first period would end. The Panthers owned a 13-6 advantage in the shot department through 20 minutes of play.
The middle frame belonged to Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers.
The Cats' leading scorer buried his 36th and 37th goals of the season to give the visitors a two-goal advantage heading into the second intermission.
After two, the shots were 21-13 in favor of Florida.
A pesky Panthers defense held their own in the third period, limiting the Canadiens to only seven shots on goal.
Lundell tallied his second of the night midway through the final stanza to put the visitors up 4-1.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard cut into the Florida lead in the final minutes of the game on a nifty redirection in front of the Panthers net, but that was as close as the Habs would get.