(Montreal) The Florida Panthers made short work of the Canadiens for the second time in less than a month.
Matthew Tkachuk scored twice on the power play, Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and the Panthers crushed the Montreal club 6-2 Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
The Panthers also corrected the Habs 7-2 in Florida on December 29.
After a hard-fought first period on Thursday, the Panthers took control of the game in the second period with five goals, including four on the power play.
Everything tumbled after a challenge lost by the head coach of the Canadian, Martin St-Louis, on the first goal of the Panthers, scored by Reinhart.
NHL video officials supported the referee, who ruled that contact between Tkachuk and goaltender Samuel Montembeault did not affect the outcome of the game.
Rem Pitlick had a goal and an assist, while Josh Anderson also hit the target for the Canadian (19-24-3), who was hoping to win a third straight game for the second time this season.
Montembeault gave up five times on 33 shots in the first two periods. Cayden Primeau took over in the third period and stopped five shots.
Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist, while Givani Smith and Ryan Lomberg also scored for the Panthers (22-20-5). Alex Lyon took over from Sergei Bobrovsky after just 121 seconds and made 23 saves.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Saturday, when the Toronto Maple Leafs are the visitors at the Bell Centre.
A time to forget
Anderson quickly knocked on the door, but ran into the post when he deflected a Mike Hoffman throw-in. It was on this streak that Bobrovsky injured his lower body, although he left the game about a minute later.
At the other end of the rink, Montembeault had to signal himself in front of Anton Lundell, who escaped in numerical inferiority.
Fresh into the Panthers’ net, Lyon made a spectacular first save, frustrating Cole Caufield in acrobatic fashion.
The Canadian fired a few more good shots before the end of the first period, but Lyon was perfect.
Everything collapsed in the second period for the Habs.
Reinhart scored first on the power play at 6:30 and the Panthers went back to the power play as St. Louis lost their challenge.
This time it was Bennett who scored at 8:27, deflecting a Gustav Forsling throw-in into the goal.
The Canadian came very close to reviving on the power play, but Lyon was once again intractable. He dove to stop a shot from Caufield, then stretched the left pad moments later to frustrate Anderson.
The Panthers knocked out the Canadian before the end of the second period.
Tkachuk scored his first goal of the game with 5:02 to go, taking advantage of a comeback on the power play. Smith then moved the ropes 65 seconds later, scoring on his own return.
Then after the Canadian was punished twice in a row for having too many players on the ice, Tkachuk returned to the charge on the power play with 42.4 seconds to go.
Things escalated in the third period, to the point where both teams each had four players in the penalty box at one point.
The Canadian took advantage of Lyon’s generosity to make things interesting for a few minutes.
Pitlick surprised him from a tight angle at 2:12, then Anderson beat him with a one-timer at 8:06.
However, Lomberg halted the Habs’ momentum by beating Primeau on the Panthers’ first shot on goal in the third period at 9:11.