Panthers battle playoff-bound Montreal with crucial draft pick positioning on the line as injuries have shaped Florida's path to a potential top-10 selection.
The last road trip of the season for the Florida Panthers has shifted north of the border.
Florida’s final three road games will come in Canada, starting on Tuesday night when they battle the Montreal Canadiens.
While Montreal is fighting for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, Florida is hovering toward the bottom of the league standings.
Entering play Tuesday, the Panthers were the sixth-to-last in the NHL, only two points ahead of the Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers.
Finishing in the bottom 10 will be good for the Panthers, because if they end up with a top-10 pick at this summer’s NHL Draft, they get to keep it.
Florida initially sent their 2026 first round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Trade Deadline deal that brought Seth Jones to the Panthers, but it turns out that the pick was top-10 protected.
At the time, it seemed silly to think that something would happen to the Stanley Cup contending Panthers to the point where they would somehow earn such a high draft pick, but a dozen or so injuries later, here we are.
Should Florida end up retaining their pick, it will be interesting to see what Panthers General Manager Bill Zito decides to do with the selection.
One option would be to flip the pick ahead of the draft and pick up a player or players who can help the team immediately, while another would be to select a player high enough that he could bolster Florida’s prospect pipeline and potentially be a star for the team in a few years, when the Cats could be looking to retool.
Meanwhile, Montreal is just two points back of both the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning, who each have 102 points and sit atop the Atlantic Division.
The Canadiens and the Lightning each have five games remaining on their respective schedules while Buffalo has four.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Tuesday’s tussle in Montreal:
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Mackie Samoskevich – Eetu Luostarinen – A.J. Greer
Noah Gregor – Tomas Nosek – Jesper Boqvist
Cole Reinhardt – Luke Kunin – Vinnie Hinostroza
Gus Forsling – Dmitry Kulikov
Tobias Bjornfot – Seth Jones
Donovan Sebrango – Mike Benning
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Photo caption: Jan 8, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault (35) makes a save against Florida Panthers left wing A.J. Greer (10) during the second period at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)