Florida is now just 2-7-1 over its past ten games

The search for answers continues for the Florida Panthers.

Once again struggling to hold a lead, Florida came out strong but ultimately fell to the Montreal Canadiens by a 5-3 final score.

Anton Lundell opened the scoring and put the Panthers on the board first just under 10 minutes into the game, jumping on a loose puck in the Habs zone following a nice rush by Evan Rodrigues and depositing the puck behind Samuel Montembeault with a nice little backhand forehand move.

Montreal tied the game less than a minute later on a goal by Joel Armia, but Florida was able to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission thanks to a gorgeous goal by Sasha Barkov.

Vladimir Tarasenko picked up the puck in the corner to Montembeault’s left and sent a perfect cross-ice pass to a streaking Barkov, who made a great move to beat the goaltender and give the Panthers their second lead of the night.

It was a lead that didn’t last particularly long, thanks to Montreal’s leading scorer.

A pair of goals by Nick Suzuki about six minutes apart, the second of which coming on the power play, gave the Canadiens their first lead of the game.

The home team ended their lead when Cole Caufield’s wraparound attempt beat Anthony Stolarz just 33 seconds into the third period.

A shorthanded goal by Jake Evans made it 5-2 Montreal four minutes later, adding to the frustrating dejection felt across the Panthers bench.

Sam Bennett added a goal in the final minutes but the game had been long over by then.

On to Ottawa.

Here are some thoughts and observations from Tuesday’s tilt in Montreal:

Aaron Ekbald did not return to the game after the first period due to an apparent injury.

Montreal was given seven power plays by the Panthers, scoring on one. 

Florida, meanwhile, went 0-for-5 on the man advantage. 

The goal by Barkov extended his points streak to five games. He’s got four goals and seven points during the run.

Bennett has goals in consecutive games for the second time this season, both coming over the past few weeks. He’s up to 18 goals on the season.

Lundell’s goal was his first since March 4, a span of 13 games. He had two assists during those 13 games.

Tarasenko is up to seven points over his past six games after registering an assist on Barkov’s goal. 

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