Gameday 37: Florida Panthers vs Montreal Canadiens

Graphic design: Francisco Oporta

Break time is over. The Florida Panthers (22-12-2) will host the Montreal Canadiens (14-17-3) this afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena in the first meeting of the season between the two Atlantic Division rivals.

Former Panther Johan Johansson made 36 saves to backstop the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-0 win over the frustrated Cats on home ice in their last outing on Monday. Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad each had a game-high five shots on goal in the loss. Florida was shut out for the third time in the last seven games. It’s been feast or famine offensively, lately.

The Canadiens had their three-game winning streak come to end when they fell 5-4 in Columbus on Monday. Montreal is 6-4 in its last ten games and trying to stay relative in the wild card race. Nick Suzuki leads the Habs in scoring with 35 points in 34 games. Cole Caufield tops the club with 17 goals. 23-year-old rookie Jakub Dobes will make his first NHL start.

WHEN: 1 p.m. ET WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL ON THE TUBE: Scripps ON THE DIAL: 96.5 WPOW-FM HD2 (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys) SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoHabsGo, #MONvsFLA, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook ENEMY INTEL: Eyes On The Prize FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 4 LAST MEETING: @MON 5, FLA 3 (Recap) – 4/2/2024 NEXT MEETING: March 15, 2025 PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Knight (6-5-1 .891 / 2.78 1SO) Montreal: Dobes PLAYER STATS: Florida / Montreal

Saturday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)

Columbus (15-15-6 36P) at BOSTON (19-14-4 42P) 7 p.m. Washington (23-9-2 48P) at TORONTO (22-12-2 46P) 7 p.m. (NHL Network) New York Rangers (16-17-1 33P) at TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (19-11-2 40P) 7 p.m. OTTAWA (18-14-2 38P) at Winnipeg (25-10-1 51P) 7 p.m.

Idle: DET (30P), BUF (30P)