MONTREAL – Despite the chilly weather, the Cats stayed hot in Canada.
Capping off a successful three-game road trip across the border, the Florida Panthers rode a four-goal third period a dominant 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.
Improving to 14-7-2, the Panthers claimed five out of a possible six points on their trip.
“We treated it almost like a playoff series,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. “Getting five out of six is huge. … We gave up two goals in three games. That’s the way we like to play. It’s hard. Teams don’t want to play against us, and that’s what we want our MO to be.”
Entering the night a perfect 20-for-20 over the previous five games, the penalty kill took center stage for the Panthers in the first period. Killing off three early power plays, the Panthers allowed just five shots on goal while also generating a couple quality shorthanded looks.
Still perfect, they finished the game 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Turning defense into offense with the action at 4-on-4, the Panthers broke the ice in the second period when Aleksander Barkov, who’s gunning for his second Selke Trophy, picked off a pass at the blue line, flew down the ice and sniped a shot past Cayden Primeau to make it 1-0 at 7:07.
In 32 career games against Montreal, Barkov has scored a whopping 23 goals.
Doubling the lead for the Panthers just eight seconds into the third period, Sam Bennett beat Primeau with a far-side snipe from the left circle to make it 2-0. Soon after, Evan Rodrigues took a drop-pass from Sam Reinhart and buried a rocket from the high slot to make it 3-0 at 3:12.
With the floodgates now open, the Panthers padded their lead even further when Carter Verhaeghe ripped a shot over Primeau’s glove on the power play to make it 4-0 at 5:49.
Coming out hot, Florida scored on three of its first five shots in the third period.
“To be honest, I don’t know what the difference was,” Verhaeghe said of the scoring outburst. “I think we were playing a little harder. We were shooting the puck more and got rewarded for it. I think we had some looks in the first and second and didn’t get rewarded. In the third, we did.”
Spoiling Sergei Bobrovsky’s inspired attempt at back-to-back shutouts, the Canadiens finally managed to get on the board when Johnathan Kovacevic fired a shot from the left circle that clipped off Bobrovsky’s glove and fluttered into the net to cut Montreal’s deficit to 4-1 at 9:30.
Finishing with 21 saves, Bobrovsky stopped 41 of 42 shots over two starts on the trip.
“I thought the guys did a great job in front of me,” Bobrovsky said. “I just have to complement their game, stay focused and step up when it’s needed. I thought the guys played a great game.”
Adding one more goal for good measure, Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it 5-1 at 19:49.
“We played a smart game through two periods and then we started shooting the puck and that was probably the difference,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “At the end of it, it would be goaltending, penalty killing and hard on some pucks is how we had a real good road trip.”
THEY SAID IT
“I like the way they treat each other. I like the way those two guys practice. They practice hard. They challenge the shooters. They’re really competitive in their own way. It sets a nice tone for us in the net.” – Paul Maurice on the tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz
”I think we play our game. We stay consistent with our game. We don’t overthink. We just do our structure over and over, again and again. We rely on it and we trust each other to do that.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on the consistent play of the Panthers this season
“I think we played pretty well on the road trip. To get five out of six points is awesome. I think we liked our game the first two games better, but it’s always good to come out, get a win and play a good game.” – Carter Verhaeghe on a successful road trip for the Cats
CATS STATS
- Aleksander Barkov is the sixth Finnish-born player to score 250 goals in the NHL.
- The Panthers have won nine of their last 10 games against the Canadiens.
- Kevin Stenlund won 53.9% of his faceoffs.
- Florida surrendered just seven shots on goal over six penalty kills.
- The Panthers led 22-16 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.
- Evan Rodrigues led the Panthers with a 71.43 CF% at 5-on-5.
WHAT’S NEXT?
As Steven Goldstein would say, “Let’s go home, baby!”
The Panthers will now return to South Florida to kick off a three-game homestand with a matchup against the New York Islanders at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
For tickets, click here.
