"It doesn't mean a whole lot if we don't make the playoffs," Tkachuk said of hitting triple digits again. "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.
"I can't thank everybody enough from Vinnie [Viola], Bill [Zito], Paul [Maurice], the coaching staff and all the players that have made the adjustment for me very, very easy to come to a new team and have some fun."
Full of confidence after finding the back of the net earlier in the contest, Lundell struck again in the third period when he forced a turnover in the offensive before beating Montembeault on a breakaway with a quick deke and finish to put the Panthers on top 4-1 at 10:15.
After the Canadiens pulled Montembeault to gain a 6-on-4 advantage on a late power play, Rafael Harvey-Pinard re-directed a shot from Mike Hoffman past Lyon from the slot to cut Florida's lead down to 4-2 at 18:35.
But with 20 seconds left in regulation, Tkachuk stifled Montreal's would-be comeback attempt when he cashed in on the empty net to complete his hat trick and safely lock down the 5-2 win.
"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 Tkachuk, who also set a new franchise record for the most multi-point games in a season with 32. "We're just trying to take care of our business."
Making his second consecutive start after racking up 38 saves against the Maple Leafs, Lyon stood tall once again for the Panthers while turning aside 18 of 20 shots between the pipes.
"It was awesome," Lyon said. "We handled business tonight. That's what it felt like. If you want to do damage at this time of the year, you have to be able to do that sometimes and control the game. I tought tonight we controlled the game as well as I've seen since I've been up here."
