5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 5, Canadiens 2

MONTREAL -- The Florida Panthers remain right in the thick of a heated playoff race after nailing down a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.
With six games remaining on their schedule, the Panthers (38-31-7) still remain just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (37-28-10) for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
At this point, all they can do is keep their head down and keep on winning.
"We can scoreboard watch as much as we want, but at the end of the day you're not going to make it unless you win your own games," said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who posted three goals and an assist against the Canadiens. "We're just trying to take care of our business."
For a quick recap of the game, click
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To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. TRIPLE DIGITS FOR CHUCKY

Tkachuk took matters into his own hands in Montreal.
Leading the charge up front, the superstar forward racked up three goals an assist against the Canadines to hit the 100-point mark for the second consecutive season. Making history, he's just the fourth U.S.-born player to ever produce back-to-back seasons with at least 100 points.

That being said, he's currently more focused on earning points in the standings.
"It doesn't mean a whole lot if we don't make the playoffs," said Tkachuk, who leads the Panthers in goals (38), assists (63) and points (101). "I'm sure, maybe, being able to reflect on it, it's obviously a pretty cool milestone. I'm surrounded by so many great teammates."
Just three points away from matching the career-high 104 points he produced in 2021-22 with the Calgary Flames, Tkachuk has been on a tear down the homestretch. Since March 10, he ranks tied for first in the NHL in scoring with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) over 10 games.

2. LUNDELL HEATS UP

Don't look now, but Anton Lundell is heating up!
After snapping out of his goal drought with the opening score in Toronto on Wednesday, the 21-year-old forward fanned those offensive flames even further with a pair of big goals in Montreal.
Playing some renewed vigor, he also led the Panthers with six shots on goal.

"He could've had one or two more," Maurice said with a smile. "I think for young players [a slump] weighs on them more because they don't have the experience of what it takes to get out of a tough stretch, and it was weighing on him, for sure. He's got hands around the net."
Of his two goals, his second was arguably the most impressive. Showing some ferocity on the forecheck, he swiped the puck away from Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki in the offensive zone before beating Sam Montembeault after a shifty deke to put the Panthers up 4-1 in the third period.

"I wanted to get the puck loose, but then I got the whole puck," said Lundell, who's notched 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 2022-23. "I was able to get in a good move on the breakaway."
With Sam Bennett still sidelined with an undisclosed injury, Lundell did a fantastic job of filling in for him in the center of the second line against Montreal. When the trio of Lundell, Tkachuk and Eetu Luostarinen was deployed at 5-on-5, the Panthers owned a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Additionally, that line also led 1.29-0.09 in expected goals.
"For me, the confidence has been there all the time," Lundell said of his resurgence. "I'm not going to lie, it helps when you get a goal. The confidence gets to higher levels. It's just been fun to be playing. Today was a really good game for our line. We created a lot of chances."

3. LYON KEEPS ROARING

After several flashy saves in Toronto, Alex Lyon showed off his mental fortitude in Montreal.
Just 24 hours after turning aside 38 of 40 shots in a 3-2 overtime win over the Maple Leafs, the veteran goaltender surrendered a flukey goal just over a minute into the first period against the Canadines when a shot from rookie Sean Farrell squeaked between his right pad and the post.
Not deterred in the slightest, he didn't surrender another even-strength goal from that point on.
"It was a mental grind," Lyon said. "That was a bad goal. Sometimes it happens and so I just tried to regroup, draw on some past experience and stick with it. It just worked out. The team did me a favor by keeping me in the game, so I've got to give a lot of credit to them."
Stepping up in a big way while Sergei Bobrovsky deals with a non-COVID illness, it's that sort of shrug-it-off attitude that's helped Lyon backstop the Panthers to back-to-back wins on the road.
Shutting down the Maple Leafs and Canadiens, he stopped 56 of 60 shots for a .933 save percentage in those wins. In that same stretch, he also went 14-for-16 against high-danger shots.
"The Lion? He competes," Lundell grinned when asked about his goaltender's skills. "He keeps us in the games. We want to help him. It's been really fun to see him having good confidence."
Making those two wins even more special, Lyon said his parents attended both games.
"It was awesome," Lyon said of getting to play in front of his folks. "They're actually waiting [for me to finish media]. I don't get to see them that often."

4. OWNING THE BLUE PAINT

The Panthers owned the blue paint at both ends.
Generating a lot of offense around Montreal's net while limiting the number of chances fired toward their own cage, the Panthers led 20-4 in high-danger chances at 5-on-5. Using that real estate to make life hard on Montembeault, Florida scored three goals from high-danger areas.
At the other end, Lyon faced just four high-danger shots.
"It felt like we were really strong with the puck and we went to the net more than before," Lundell said. "That's something we need to keep doing."
Thanks to that nose for the net, the Panthers also led 3.03-1.45 in expected goals at 5-on-5.
"We were heavier in front of our net than we have been in a little bit just in terms of cleaning up pucks," Maurice said. "It wasn't a physical game at all, but we were able to get to their net."

5. A SEASON SWEEP

The Panthers were perfect against the Canadiens in 2022-23.
Winning all four games of the season series, they outscored Montreal 27-11 in those contests. Spreading out the offense, 17 different players for the Panthers notched at least one point in the series, with seven of those players averaging at least a point per game.
Tkachuk led Florida in goals (8) and points (13) against the Canadiens this season. Also hitting double digits, Aleksander Barkov ranked second in points (10) and first in assists (7). On the blue line, Brandon Montour dished out six assists, while Aaron Ekblad scored a pair of goals.
Since March 7, 2020, the Panthers have won eight of their last nine games against Montreal.
"I've watched them play against teams, and they play fast and they play hard," Maurice said of the Canadiens. "They've got eight guys out of their lineup and have had major pieces out all year. … They play hard. They've got good spirit. They compete. They've lost goalies and gone through probably everything that you can, but they've probably found their character here."
\All advanced statistics courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com*