Sabres - The Buffalo News
National Hockey League
Montreal 4, Florida 2
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 30, 2025
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Jean Hebert, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen: Julien Fournier, Ben O'Quinn
Attendance: 19432

Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists for the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-2 win against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.

Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist, Patrik Laine and Brendan Gallagher also scored, Lane Hutson totaled three assists and Sam Montembeault made 24 saves for the Canadiens (34-30-9, 77 points), who moved into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

In the finale of a four-game trip, Montreal snapped a five-game skid (0-3-2).

Sam Reinhart and Seth Jones scored, Aleksander Barkov had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves for the Panthers (44-26-3, 91 points), who missed a chance to retake first place in the Atlantic Division.

Laine scored with a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle while on a power play to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 12:03 of the first period.

Laine has scored 15 of his 19 goals on the power play this season.

The Panthers tied it 1-1 at 13:16.

Hutson overskated the puck while retrieving it behind his net, allowing Reinhart to take possession and then skated in front of the crease before scoring with a backhand for his 36th goal of the season.

The Canadiens moved back in front 2-1 with another power-play goal at 11:27 of the second period.

Slafkovsky, who turned 21 on Sunday, tried to center the puck to Cole Caufield from below the right circle, but it went off Jones and into his own net.

The Panthers tied it again 2-2 at 16:24 of the second on a one-timer from above the right circle by Jones.

Suzuki scored with a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle to give the Canadiens a 3-2 lead at 2:02 of the third period.

Gallagher sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:44 left.

Montreal, which beat Florida, 3-1, in Montreal on March 15 behind 21 saves from Montembeault, will turn around and host the Panthers again on Tuesday.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Florida
Nick Suzuki 3 Points Aleksander Barkov 2
Nick Suzuki 1 Goals Seth Jones 1
Lane Hutson 3 Assists Aleksander Barkov 2
Juraj Slafkovsky 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sam Montembeault .923 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .864
Sam Montembeault 24 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 23 4 2-3 2-2 6 31
Florida 26 2 0-2 1-3 20 22
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Panthers have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .679 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game at home against Florida. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .485 after a win and .450 after a loss.