The Panthers leaped to first place in the Eastern Conference and are three points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the most points in the National Hockey League. The Cats are now 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. It was the first time they won in Montreal since March 2018.
Both clubs scored in the first minute of the first period. Montreal(17-37-10) made it 1-0 on power play 29 seconds in. Nick Suzuki ripped a forehand shot by Spencer Knight for his 18th goal this season.
Florida(43-14-6) answered back just seven seconds later as Aleksander Barkov put in his team-high 27th goal of the season on a wrist shot from the left circle. Hagg and Giroux both picked up their first points in a Panthers uniform as they both got assists on the play.
In the second period, the Panthers climbed ahead 2-1 at the 1:12 mark. Mason Marchment found the net for the 14th time of the campaign.
The Habs tied it 2-2 at 5:59 of the second. Jake Evans chalked up his ninth goal this year and former Panther Mike Hoffman had the secondary assist. Evans has two goals in the last three contests.
The Cats reclaimed the lead 3-2 with 12:54 left in the frame. Chiarot snapped a shot from the top of the zone and Anthony Duclair redirected it from the slot area past Jake Allen for his 25th goal this season. Jonathan Huberdeau collected his NHL-leading 66th assist of the 2021-22 campaign.
It became 4-2 for Florida at 7:20 of the third period as they scored with the man advantage. Sam Reinhart pushed the puck forward from the right wing to Huberdeau on the right goal line. He made a return pass and Reinhart placed in a snap shot from the inner right circle for his 24th goal of the season. Giroux marked his second assist of the contest.
The Canadiens added an extra skater and cut the deficit to 4-3 with 3:40 remaining in the third. Christian Dvorak centered the puck from below the left circle and Paul Byron shot the puck in from the top of the crease for his third tally this year.
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