Panthers Take Habs

     The Florida Panthers played their final game of the 2023 calendar year and knocked off the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena. It capped oof a year for the Panthers where they captured the Eastern Conference title and reached the Stanley Cup Final for only the second time in franchise history. 

     After a scoreless first period, Florida(22-12-2) moved to a 1-0 lead with the man advantage at the 4:05 mark of the second. Sam Bennett whisked a cross-ice pass from above the right circle. Evan Rodrigues carried the puck from the left wing to the top of the zone and snapped a shot. Eetu Luostarinen batted the puck on a volley from the top of the crease for his sixth goal this year. 

     Montreal(15-15-5) responded with a power-play goal at 7:01 to tie it up 1-1. Former Panther Mike Matheson angled a pass from the top of the zone to Nick Suzuki on the left wing. He passed it forward and Cole Caufield lifted a backhand shot from the left of the crease for his ninth goal of the campaign. The Cats had their six-game, penalty-killing streak snapped after having the previous 15 occasions stopped.

     In the third period, the Panthers pulled ahead 2-1 at 7:34 on a power-play goal. Oliver Ekman-Larsson connected a pass from the right point to Aaron Ekblad in the top left circle. He passed it down to the left goal line and Luostarinen roofed a backhand shot from the left of the crease for his second goal of the contest and his seventh tally of the season. It was Luostarinen's first career two-goal game. 

     Florida made it 3-1 with 4:34 to go in the frame. Carter Verhaeghe made a short pass from the left wing. Ekman-Larsson fired a slap shot that was redirected in by Bennett in the slot area for his sixth goal this season. 

      It became 4-1 for the Cats with 2:47 left in the third. Matthew Tkachuk fed a pass across the red line and Verhaeghe snapped a shot from the neutral one into an empty net for his 18th goal of the season for a 4-1 lead.