The Florida Panthers (44-25-3) will be looking to regain first place when they host the Montreal Canadiens (33-30-9) this afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena in the first segment of a home-and-home between the two Atlantic Division rivals.
After going 2-4 on a six-game road trip, the Panthers returned to Sunrise where they have posted a 4-3 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Friday’s 2-1 overtime victory over the fading Utah Hockey Club. Sam Bennett scored both of Florida’s goals, notching the game-winner with 42 seconds remaining in the extra session off a sweet feed from newcomer Brad Marchand. The Cats were a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 13 of 14 shots.
Despite a five-game (0-3-2) losing streak, the Canadiens are still firmly in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. On Friday, the Habs were soundly beaten 4-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes, knocking them out of the second wild card which was claimed yesterday by the New York Rangers. Montreal trails the Rangers by two points with two games in hand, so they’ll be looking to beat the Panthers for the third time this season to move back up.
- WHEN: 1 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, NHL Network
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoHabsGo, #MONvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Eyes On The Prize
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 4 (0-2)
- LAST MEETING: @MON 3, FLA 1 (Recap) – 3/15/2025
- NEXT MEETING: April 1, 2025
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (31-15-2 .907 / 2.43 5SO) Montreal: Montembeault (25-23-6 .899 / 2.93 4SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Montreal
Sunday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- BUFFALO (30-35-6 66P) at Washington (47-16-9 103P) 3 p.m.
- OTTAWA (39-28-5 83P) at Pittsburgh (29-34-11 69P) 5 p.m.
- TORONTO (44-25-4 92P) at Anaheim (32-32-8 72P) 8 p.m.
Idle: TBL (91P), DET (74P), BOS (69P)