Canadiens rally, defeat Panthers in overtime

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Phillip Danault scored 39 seconds into overtime to help the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center on Thursday.
Danault scored on a breakaway when he beat Panthers goalie James Reimer with a shot to the blocker side.
The victory ended a season-long three-game losing streak that included a 4-3 overtime loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

WATCH: All Canadiens vs. Panthers highlights
"It was important for us to bounce back after the third period that we played [Wednesday]," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "Right from the get-go, I thought we dictated the game. We ended up losing a bit of momentum in the second when we took some penalties, but in the third we didn't quit and we worked extremely hard and deserved that win."

Brendan Gallagher tied the game with 2:37 left in the third period and Max Pacioretty also scored for the Canadiens (22-9-5). Pacioretty's goal was his 10th in 12 games; Gallagher ended a 13-game goal drought.
"Everyone knows what I've been going through lately," Gallagher said, "and hopefully I don't have to wait that long for the next one."
Al Montoya, who spent the previous two seasons with the Panthers, made 31 saves for Montreal. He won for the first time since Oct. 26 after going 0-4-1 in his previous five decisions.
"It's emotional," Montoya said. "I've got a lot of buddies on that side. I put in a lot of hard work and time in with those guys and they gave me a great opportunity, and now I'm ready to seize it with another team and take it to another level."
Jason Demers and Vincent Trocheck scored for the Panthers (15-14-8), who have lost 10 of their past 13 games. Demers tied his career high with his seventh goal of the season. Reimer made 38 saves.
"We've just got to learn how to close out games as a team," Trocheck said. "We're sitting back too much once we get leads. We play our game up until we get a lead and then we get back on our heels. Any time (you do that), any good team is going to take it to you and get scoring opportunities, and that's what happened."

Goal of the game

Danault was sent on his breakaway after Pacioretty gained control of the puck on the boards in the Montreal zone and hit him in stride in the neutral zone with a perfect backhand pass.

Save of the game

With Florida on a power play in the second period, Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle's wrist shot from the point hit teammate Nick Bjugstad in front. The puck bounced to the left of the net, where Aaron Ekblad one-timed it into what appeared to be an open net, but Montoya was able to get his left arm on the shot as he threw himself to the right.

Highlight of the game

Gallagher scored his first goal since Nov. 26 when the Canadiens had a 3-on-2 rush and he took a cross-ice feed from Danault before putting a wrist shot over Reimer's left shoulder. "First off, it was an unbelievable pass by [Danault]," Gallagher said. "He made it pretty easy on me."

Unsung performance of the game

Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie had four hits to help Florida out-hit the Canadiens 20-8 and won 11 of his 17 faceoffs (65 percent).

They said it

"We were all a little down after the game (Wednesday). Even if it was only the 35th game, it still hurts to lose like that, especially when you have a 3-1 lead. Today, it was a good comeback and it showed character. Everybody was pushing in the same direction and that was good to see." -- Canadiens forward Phillip Danault
"If we want to get where we want to be, we have to find ways to win close hockey games." -- Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher
"Lots of guys stepped up tonight and played hard and competed hard. They're the top team in our division. Bottom line, we've got to find a way to get two points." -- Panthers forward Jussi Jokinen

Need to know

Panthers coach Tom Rowe said after the game that center Aleksander Barkov likely would be out 2-3 weeks because of an undisclosed injury. He did not play against Montreal. … Panthers forward Jonathan Marchessault left the game late in the third period with an injury, but Rowe said it wasn't serious. … Forward Michael Sgarbossa played his first game for the Panthers after being recalled earlier in the day from Springfield of the American Hockey League. He was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks in November. … Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry played in his 400th NHL game. … Linesman Jonny Murray was recognized before the game for working his 1,000th NHL game.

What's next

Canadiens: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, ROOT, NHL.TV)
Panthers: At the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-SW, FS-F, NHL.TV)