The Canadian tasted the medicine of the NHL’s best offense on Tuesday at the FLA Live Arena.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Lomberg each had two goals and an assist as the Florida Panthers beat Montreal 7-4 after blowing a three-goal lead.
The Habs have been dominated by their rivals for a long time and have been repeatedly bottled up in their territory. He still made things interesting by overcoming a 4-1 deficit late in the second period.
However, the Panthers were unshaken and rode away with the victory in the final period. They shattered their team record for goals in a season along the way, inflating their total to 271, a high across the NHL. They still have 16 games left to play this season.
“They seemed faster than us on the ice,” said the Canadiens’ interim head coach, Martin St-Louis, paying tribute to the Panthers. They caused a lot of turnovers. They were in our face, they used their stick well. They worked hard in the offensive zone to recover the pucks and we had a hard time getting them out. »
Laurent Dauphin and Chris Wideman each had a goal and an assist, while Joel Edmundson and Christian Dvorak also scored for the Canadiens (18-38-11). Jake Allen allowed six goals on 45 shots.
The Canadian has only three wins in its last 11 games (3-4-4).
“There is always a lesson in defeats,” recalled St-Louis. It’s up to us, the coaches, to find the answers and communicate them to the group, and then we continue forward. »
Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists and Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist, while Mason Marchment also scored for the Panthers (45-15-6). Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 20 shots.
With 70 assists this season, Huberdeau set an NHL record for a left winger.
Forward Jake Evans left the game with less than eight minutes left in the third period after a heavy crash against the rail. The Canadian said after the game that Evans was doing well despite an “upper body” injury. His state of health will be reassessed daily.
On the side of the Panthers, Noel Acciari did not return to the game after the first period.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Thursday, when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
effort in vain
The Canadian struck first, when Wideman beat Bobrovsky at 2:32 after an outnumbered attack.
Bobrovsky redeemed himself moments later, frustrating Paul Byron on a shorthanded breakaway.
The tide quietly turned in favor of the Panthers, who took advantage of a few blunders from the Canadian.
Huberdeau tied the game at 16:17 shorthanded after Justin Barron lost control of the puck in the neutral zone. Lomberg then scored at 17:57, after Joe Thornton stole the disc from Evans, who had stopped playing after being hit in the face by a rival’s glove.
The Habs’ troubles continued into the second period. Bennett hit the target at 2:37, after a disallowed clearance from Evans. The latter also lost the subsequent face-off, in addition to missing his cover on Bennett on the play.
Lomberg scored his second goal of the game at 7:57, after a silly turnover from Mike Hoffman out of the area.
The Panthers finished the second period with a 19-5 shots on goal advantage. However, the Canadian found a way to get back into the game, scoring on his last three shots of the engagement.
Edmundson, on a set-up by Suzuki, and Dauphin, on a rebound, scored within 31 seconds before seeing Dvorak thread the needle to tie the game with 1:54 left in the second period.
Another blunder from Hoffman in his zone put the Panthers back in front 1:19 into the third period. Huberdeau completed the sequence, after he and Bennett found themselves alone in front of Allen.
Evans escaped on a four-on-three penalty kill midway through the third period. Bobrovsky stopped the throw from Evans, who then fell and gave heavily against the boards. Evans needed help leaving the rink and heading for the infirmary.
Marchment delivered the knockout blow with 5:17 remaining on the clock, then Barkov completed the scoring by shooting into an empty net late in the game.
Locker Room Echoes
Joel Edmundson admitted that the Canadian has been bottled up too often in his territory.
“We especially had problems leaving the zone. We knew their defenders would be aggressive on the blue line. They did a good job, but it was up to us to find ways to get the puck out. »
Laurent Dauphin acknowledged that with the Panthers up 4-1, even the Canadiens players had trouble believing they could come back.
“But we have already proven that we can do this type of comeback. The wind can quickly turn. It only takes a goal or two to start believing again. »
Nick Suzuki assured that the coaches were not always satisfied with the team’s play even if Martin St-Louis often repeats in front of the cameras that he is happy with the effort of his troop.
“The coaches are very honest with us. There are several negatives tonight and only a few positives. When we review the games, they (the coaches) explain our mistakes. They don’t just present us with positives. »