Cats aim for wins on back-to-back nights as they face a feisty Montreal squad, with crucial divisional points on the line.
The Florida Panthers will look to complete a back-to-back set sweep when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night in Sunrise.
Florida is fresh off Monday’s exciting comeback victory over the Washington Capitals at Amerant Bank Arena, their ninth in 12 games since the start of December.
The Cats will have to dig deep if they want to pick up a win over the Habs though, as Florida will be playing their third game in four nights after exiting the league’s annual holiday break.
Montreal, on the other hand, has placed only one game since the pause ended, a 5-4 shootout loss in Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon.
Entering play Tuesday, the Habs sit in third place in the Atlantic Division with 46 points through 38 games.
The Panthers are right on their heels, holding the second Wild Card spot with 44 points, also through 38 games.
A win for Florida would give them the edge over Montreal though, as the Cats already have five more regulation wins than their friends from the north (18 to 13, for those wondering).
It’s also worth noting that those 18 regulation wins are tied for the most in the conference with Washington and Tampa Bay.
Florida is expected to start Daniil Tarasov on the back end of the back-to-back set, which would also set up Sergei Bobrovsky to get the nod for Friday’s Winter Classic.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Monday’s matchup with the Capitals:
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich – Evan Rodrigues – A.J. Greer
Jesper Boqvist – Luke Kunin – Jack Studnicks
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis – Jeff Petry
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Photo caption: Dec 29, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jeff Romance-Imagn Images)