RECAP: Canadiens 4, Panthers 3 (SO)

MONTREAL – The Florida Panthers picked up the first point of their five-game road trip in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

After two tough losses in Pittsburgh near the end of an injury-plagued season, the game was a step in the right direction for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“I liked the way we played tonight,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We played hard and defended hard. Things weren’t easy for us in terms of some of the puck movement that we wanted to do. Great energy on the bench. Yeah, I’ve got no complaints with the way we played tonight.”

Hitting the 25-goal mark for the third time in his career, Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring for the Panthers in the first period when he pounced on the puck after a shot from Donovan Sebrango and ripped the rebound past Jakub Dobes to make it 1-0 at 9:23.

With the Canadiens earning a power play late in the period, the Panthers held their ground to carry the lead into the first intermission.

Daniil Tarasov stopped all five shots he faced on the penalty kill, including robbing Montreal’s leading scorer, Nick Suzuki, on a dangerous one-timer from the slot.

After 20 minutes, the Panthers led 11-7 in shots on goal.

Back on the power play early in the second period, the Canadiens evened the score when rookie phenom Ivan Demidov buried a one-timer from the right circle to make it 1-1 just 54 seconds into the frame.

Putting the Panthers back on top, Cole Reinhardt flew down the ice on a partial breakaway before banking a shot off Dobes and in from the goal line to make it 2-1 at 13:43.

“I chipped it by the guy and had a step,” Reinhardt said of the sequence. “I kinda got hooked, and just kind of threw it around the goalie and it went in.”

Winning the battle for prime real estate, the Panthers led 13-5 in shot attempts from high-danger areas after two periods.

Threatening with a 6-on-5 advantage after a delayed penalty against the Panthers, the Canadiens found the equalizer in the third period when Phillip Danault scored from the slot to make it 2-2 at 6:22.

Prior to the goal, Tarasov had his paddle knocked away after a Canadiens skater was pushed into his crease.

Less than two minutes later, Eetu Luostarinen put the Panthers back on top when he went to the front of the net and tipped in a point shot from Gustav Forsling to make it 3-2 at 7:49.

Losing yet another player to injury, Dmitry Kulikov, who was already playing with a broken nose, suffered a broken finger in the third period and did not return.

“It’s the standard injury here now,” said Maurice, who added that Kulikov’s season is over. “It’s unbelievable what these guys have been through.”

After pulling Dobes for the extra attacker, Suzuki – moments after being denied by Tarasov on another point-blank shot – lit the lamp for Montreal to make it 3-3 with 20.2 seconds left on the clock.

Facing adversity right out of the gate in overtime, the Panthers had to kill off 1:49 of a 4-on-3 power play at the start of the extra frame.

Holding on, the Panthers and Canadiens then exchanged chances at 3-on-3, with the Panthers leading 4-3 in shots on goal.

A great goaltending duel, Tarasov finished regulation and overtime with 29 saves, while Dobes made 30.

“Tarry was unbelievable,” Reinhardt said of Tarasov. “A lot of big saves at big times. Both goalies played well, but Tarry was unreal.”

Following a scoreless overtime, the action shifted to the shootout.

With Dobes not letting anything past him, Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier each scored to lock in the 4-3 win for the Canadiens.

“All things considered, it was a solid game,” Luostarinen said. “A tough ending, but I don’t think it was a bad game at all.”

THEY SAID IT

“He made some huge saves, and good for him. He had an impact in the game for us.” – Paul Maurice on Daniil Tarasov

“It’s not a hard game plan here. When you execute it, a lot of teams don’t want to play that way.” – Cole Reinhardt on adapting to Florida’s system

“They play a lot of minutes. Big respect. Chipping in every night and making good plays.” – Eetu Luostarinen on Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling

CATS STATS

- Donovan Sebrango recorded his fifth assist of the season.

- Seth Jones has notched at least one point in six of his last eight games.

- Eetu Luostarinen has recorded the third 10-goal season of his career.

- Tobias Bjornfot blocked four shots.

- Cole Reinhardt, Tomas Nosek and A.J. Greer each logged four hits.

- The Panthers led 18-11 in blocked shots.

- Florida surrendered only five scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the first period.

- The Panthers led 23-10 in shot attempts at 5-on-5 when Gustav Forsling was on the ice.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The trek through Canada will continue.

Looking to play spoiler, the Panthers will face the playoff-hopeful Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch in South Florida, click HERE.