Giroux has two assists in Panthers debut, win against Canadiens
Knight makes 28 saves for Florida
By
Sean Farrell
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists, and Spencer Knight made 28 saves for Florida (43-14-6), which played its first game since last Friday, a 3-0 win at the Anaheim Ducks.
"[Knight] was really good," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "He maybe wasn't tested too much early, then we kind of hung him out to dry a little bit, got a little bit sleepy in some of our coverages. And they worked really hard, they battled. They played a playoff-type game, they had some offensive guys, they had some looks. We were a little sleepy at times, but credit to them, too, for playing as hard as they did."
Jake Allen made 38 saves for Montreal (17-37-10), which has lost four of five.
"That's a good team we played against tonight and I think we battled really well," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "It was a good opportunity, and I know we didn't get the result we wanted, but it was a fun game to play and a fun game to coach."
Panthers defensemen Ben Chiarot and Robert Hagg each had an assist in his Florida debut. Chiarot, who was acquired in a trade with Montreal last Wednesday, drew applause when he was announced in the starting lineup and waved when a video tribute was cheered in the first period.
"This place has been a really key place in my career, kind of where I took a big jump, started a young family when I was here," Chiarot said. "It's an important place for me, and I'll always be thankful for all the people here in Montreal giving me a warm ovation like they did, it feels good.
"It's been a real whirlwind, probably the last 24 hours. My head's spinning, to be honest, meeting a new team, playing back in the Bell Centre, being on the ice with my old teammates, it's a weird feeling, but I'm happy with the way it went and happy to move on to the next game now that it's over with."
Nick Suzuki gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 29 seconds into the first period.
Aleksander Barkov tied it 1-1 seven seconds later. Giroux passed back to Hagg off Barkov's face-off win at center ice and got a touch on Hagg's return pass to put it off the boards for the Florida captain, who shot from the left face-off dot.
The two goals in 36 seconds were the fastest from the start of an NHL game since Nov. 18, 2018, when Justin Williams and Micheal Ferland of the Carolina Hurricanes scored eight seconds apart in the first 30 seconds of a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils.
Giroux played on a line with Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe.
"I thought they had the puck a lot, they had their looks," Brunette said. "It's going to take a little time to get that rhythm with them, that chemistry, that cadence, and we'll continue to be patient and let it materialize here. And it wasn't from a lack of effort and they're going to get better every time they play together."
Mason Marchment gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 1:12 of the second period.
Jake Evans tied it 2-2 at 5:59 with a deflection.
Anthony Duclair put Florida up 3-2 at 7:06. He deflected Chiarot's wrist shot from the point for his 25th goal of the season.
"Right from the get-go, first game against his old team, it's good for him to get on the board," Duclair said.
Sam Reinhart made it 4-2 with a power-play goal at 7:20, with Giroux getting his second assist.
Paul Byron scored at 16:20 to get Montreal within 4-3.
"I think tonight we showed that we can play with any team in the league now," Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson. "A couple of months ago I don't think we could have said that, but right now, the way we're playing I think we'll give any team a run for their money. It's been fun the past month or so and we've just got to keep it going the last 18 games."
NOTES: Giroux played his first 1,000 NHL games and scored 900 points (291 goals, 609 assists) for the Philadelphia Flyers, who traded him to the Panthers on Sunday for forward Owen Tippett, a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. ... Hagg was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. ... The assists by Giroux and Hagg on Florida's first goal were each the second-fastest point by an NHL player making his team debut this season. Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils scored 17 seconds into his first game with the New Jersey Devils, a 4-3 win in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 15. ... The assists by Giroux and Hagg were the third-fastest point by a player in his Panthers debut (Gary Roberts, 0:26 on Oct. 31, 2005; Niklas Hagman, 0:29 on Oct. 26, 2001).
