Huberdeau helps Panthers defeat Canadiens, maintain Atlantic lead

SUNRISE, Fla. --Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and tied the NHL record for left wings with his 70th assist of the season for the Florida Panthers in a 7-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday.

Huberdeau assisted on Aleksander Barkov's empty-net goal at 17:26 of the third period to tie the record first set by Joe Juneau for the Boston Bruins in 1992-93. It also was Huberdeau's 400th NHL assist and his NHL career-best 93rd point of the season.
"It's pretty cool, especially doing it against Montreal," Huberdeau said. "I have a lot of family there, a lot of friends. It's nice to get milestones, but it's great to get the win."
Florida maintained its six-point lead in the Atlantic Division over the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning, who defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime Tuesday.
Ryan Lomberg had his first two-goal game and scored an NHL career-best three points, Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for the Panthers (45-15-6), who tied their record with their 27th home win (2017-18).

Chris Wideman and Laurent Dauphin each had a goal and an assist, and Jake Allen made 39 saves for the Canadiens (18-38-11), who have lost six of eight (2-3-3).
"It's not an easy team to face," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "They looked faster than us on the ice and they forced us to turn the puck over and we had a hard time getting the puck out. They gave us a lot of problems executing because of their aggressiveness, their speed, and when they have the puck they don't give you much. They make good plays."
Florida's fourth goal was its 265th of the season, breaking its record of 264 goals set in 2018-19.
"We have so much depth," Huberdeau said. "We've been scoring a lot of goals this year. We set a franchise record [with] 16 games left and we've got to focus on that and be better defensively. We know we can score, but we've got to be better defensively."
Huberdeau broke a 4-4 tie at 1:19 of the third period after a turnover in the Montreal zone.

Mason Marchment made it 6-4 at 14:43 when he redirected Bennett's pass from the side before Barkov's goal made it 7-4.
The Canadiens trailed 4-1 before scoring three goals on three shots in span of 1:42 late the second period.
"A little disappointing clock recognition [with] five minutes [left], and giving up three goals is kind of unacceptable," Florida coach Andrew Brunette said. "But they rallied and showed leadership and came out and did all the right things in the third period."
Joel Edmundson cut it to 4-2 at 16:24 with a one-timer from the slot. It was the defenseman's ninth game since returning from a back injury.
Dauphin made it 4-3 at 16:55 when he scored from the crease before Christian Dvorak tied the score 4-4 at 18:06 with a one-timer off a pass from Rem Pitlick from behind the net.
"Yeah, it's just nice to get the first one of the season and just to get some momentum for our team," Edmundson said. "And then we scored a couple quick ones right after that, so I was just happy to get it going."
Wideman gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 2:32 of the first period when he scored from the slot. It was his first goal since Nov. 13 (42 games).
Huberdeau tied it 1-1 at 16:17 with a shorthanded goal before Lomberg gave Florida a 2-1 lead at 17:57 with a one-timer off a feed from Joe Thornton.

Bennett made it 3-1 at 2:37 of the second period when he rebounded a Ben Chiarot shot from the point, and Lomberg increased the lead to 4-1 at 7:57 with a shot from the slot after taking a pass from Barkov.
Normally a fourth-line player, Lomberg got the chance to skate on a line with Barkov and Huberdeau.
"It's fun, for sure," he said. "They're world-class players. Anytime you get the chance to get on the ice with them, you try to make the most of it."
NOTES: Florida forward Noel Acciari left after the first period with an upper-body injury. Brunette did not have an update after the game. … Montreal forward Jake Evans left with 7:52 remaining in the third period after he crashed into the boards after being stopped on a shorthanded breakaway. A Canadiens spokesperson said Evans was day to day. … Huberdeau is the first player in Panthers history with 400 assists, and has scored 591 points in 657 games in 10 NHL seasons. … Thornton had an assist in 10:20 in his first game since March 18. … Panthers center Claude Giroux had an assist, giving him five assists in three games since he was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade March 19. … Canadiens defenseman Justin Barron had an assist for his first NHL point in his fourth NHL game. … Montreal was outshot 46-24, including 19-5 in the second period.