The Florida Panthers (39-16-4) will be looking to complete a sweep of its three-game homestand when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens (23-28-8) tonight in the friendly confines of Amerant Bank Arena. A win over the Canadiens would give the Cats a 20-8-2 record on home ice, which would match their sparkling mark on the road. In Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, Brandon Montour scored the game-winning goal and added two assists against his old team; Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and helper; and Sam Bennett also lit the lamp. Sergei Bobrovsky held the opposition to goals or less for a ninth straight start- a franchise record. When you factor in Anthony Stolarz, the Panthers have done that fourteen times in a row. Unreal…
After hovering around NHL .500 for much of the season, a five-game losing streak effectively ended any faint hope Montreal had of making the playoffs. The Canadiens were able to snap the skid in their last outing, a 4-2 win over the ice-cold Arizona Coyotes, before heading to the Sunshine State, where they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday after playing the Panthers. Nick Suzuki leads Montreal in goals (23) and points (56) while former Panther Mike Matheson tops the club in assists, with a career-high 35. Another ex-Cat, Samuel Montembeault has already been confirmed as the starter.
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida
- ON THE DIAL: Radio Libre 790 (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoHabsGo, #MTLvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Eyes On The Prize
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 4 (2-0)
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 4, MTL 1 (Recap) – 12/30/2023
- NEXT MEETING: April 2, 2024
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Stolarz (10-5-2 .915 / 1.97 1SO) Montreal: Montembeault (13-10-4 .904 / 3.16 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Montreal
Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- Vegas (33-19-7 73P) at BOSTON (34-12-14 82P) 7 p.m.
- New York Islanders (24-20-14 62P) at DETROIT (33-20-6 72P) 7 p.m.
- BUFFALO (27-28-4 58P) at TAMPA BAY (32-24-5 69P) 7 p.m.
- Arizona (23-30-5 51P) at TORONTO (33-17-8 74P) 7 p.m.
Idle: OTT (53P)