Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky speaks after Florida's 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 28. A quick three-game road trip through eastern Canada will come to an end on Thursday night for the Florida Panthers. In just a 48-hour span the Panthers played in both Ottawa and Toronto, leaving Ontario with a boatload of penalty minutes and three of a possible four points in the standings. Now the Cats will try to make it a near-perfect trip when they lock horns with the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. This will be the first of four meetings between the divisional opponents. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Laat season, Florida swept the four-game regular season series while outscoring the Canadiens 27-11. That’s an average of just under seven goals per game for the Cats. Montreal isn’t the pushover that they were last season, entering Thursday’s game with an even 10-10-2 record following a 4-2 road win in Columbus on Wednesday. The Panthers are fresh off Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout loss in Toronto and hold a 13-7-2 record, good for second place in the Atlantic Division. Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the start in goal for Florida against the Habs. He’s coming off a strong effort on Monday in Ottawa, where he earned the 40th shutout of his illustrious NHL career during the Cats’ 5-0 victory. Bob carries a .910 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average so far this season, and his 10 wins are tied for third-most in the league. On the other side of the ice, Montreal will start young goaltender Cayden Primeau. The 24-year-old Voorhees, New Jersey native will be appearing in his fifth game of the season, currently holding a 2-2-0 record with a 3.41 goals against average and .898 save percentage. His most recent start was a strong one, earning a 3-2 shootout victory on the road in San Jose last Friday. Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Thursday’s battle in Montreal: Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins Jonah Gadjovich – Kevin Stenlund – Ryan Lomberg Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Matthew Tkachuk fashion sense receives high praise in latest NHL Style Rankings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-fashion-sense-receives-high-praise-in-latest-nhl-style-rankings] ‘We’re playing the right way’: Panthers pleased with team effort on tough Canadian road trip [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/were-playing-the-right-way-panthers-pleased-with-team-effort-on-tough-canadian-road-trip] Three takeaways: Panthers penalty kill surging, team focused on sustaining success [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/three-takeaways-panthers-penalty-kill-surging-team-focused-on-sustaining-success] Goaltending shines as Panthers drop frustrating game to Toronto in a shootout [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/goaltending-shines-as-panthers-drop-frustrating-game-to-toronto-in-a-shootout] Ottawa's Zack MacEwen fined by NHL for going after Matthew Takchuk during Panthers 5-0 win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/ottawas-zack-macewen-fined-by-nhl-for-going-after-matthew-takchuk-during-panthers-5-0-win] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]