Luongo, Panthers blank Canadiens, gain in wild-card race

MONTREAL -- The Florida Panthers closed the gap in the race for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday.

Roberto Luongo made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov scored for Florida, which is 4-2-0 in its past six games.
The Panthers (36-27-7), who began a stretch of seven of eight games on the road, are three points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card and have played two fewer games.
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Canadiens highlights]
"It's huge. We have games in hand as well, so we're a very excited team, there's no doubt about it," Ekblad said. "And everybody in this room knows what we have and knows what's in front of us, and the work and the challenge that we have, and we're ready to step up."

Montreal (26-35-12), which trails New Jersey by 18 points, was shut out for the second straight game and is 1-4-1 in its past six. Antti Niemi made 38 saves.
"[Niemi] played a heck of a game," Canadiens forward Jacob de la Rose said. "We should have won this for him. He kept us in the game, but we couldn't create enough offense."
It was Luongo's 76th NHL shutout, tying him with Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito for ninth all time.
"It doesn't mean much right now," Luongo said. "Obviously, our goal is to make the playoffs and get some wins here down the stretch, so I'm not thinking about that kind of stuff too much right now."

The Panthers have three consecutive shutouts against the Canadiens, who have been held without a goal 12 games this season, most in the NHL.
Ekblad gave Florida a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal at 18:31 of the first period. The Panthers defenseman jumped on a turnover in the slot and deked past defenseman Jeff Petry to shoot a backhand past Niemi for his 15th goal.
Barkov scored to make it 2-0 at 6:23 of the third period when his pass attempt from the left side deflected into the net off Montreal forward Logan Shaw's stick.
"There's a lot of confidence in this room," Ekblad said. "I'm not going to say wins come easy, because they never do, but a lot of us are feeling very confident in ourselves, you know, making strong plays and doing the right things."
De la Rose appeared to tie the game 17 seconds after Ekblad scored, but Panthers coach Bob Boughner challenged for offside, and the goal was reversed after video review showed Alex Galchenyuk entered the zone ahead of the puck at 18:43.

Goal of the game

Barkov's goal at 6:23 of the third period.

Save of the game

Luongo stopping Daniel Carr at 10:40 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Ekblad's goal at 18:31 of the first period.

They said it

"I think that's the one that kind of got me into it. It was early in the game and I felt that I was on it, so it really carried me for the rest of the game." -- Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo about his right-pad save on Daniel Carr in the first period
"We had contributions throughout the lineup and it was a good road game to start this trip off. Obviously, we've got to bring that same kind of effort tomorrow night (at the Ottawa Senators)." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"They won battles, they won races. They're a team fighting for a playoff spot, and at the end of the night, we weren't able to compete with that. It's the right answer, and it's the honest answer." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien

Need to know

James Reimer will start in net for the Panthers on Tuesday. … Florida forward Derek MacKenzie played his 600th NHL game.

What's next

Panthers:At the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, ATTSN-PT, RDS, NHL.TV)