It’s been a rough start to the Florida Panthers’ season-long road trip. After falling 4-1 on Tuesday in Toronto, the Panthers again fell behind and couldn’t come back Thursday night in Montreal, losing to the Canadiens 6-2. It didn’t take long for Montreal to get on the scoreboard and get their fans buzzing. Directly off a faceoff in Florida’s end, Oliver Kapanen won the puck back to Mike Matheson, and he set up Noah Dobson for a booming one-timer that went bar-down on Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead just 2:59 into the game. Later in the period, Kapanen scored one of his own to double Montreal’s lead heading into the intermission. A loose puck in the corner was kicked to the slot by Juraj Slafkovský, and Kapanen backhanded a fluttering shot over Bobrovsky’s blocker to make it 2-0 for the home side. Florida finally got themselves on the board during the opening minutes of the second period thanks to a bad misplay by Montreal’s goaltender. After A.J. Greer dumped the puck into the Habs’ zone and behind their net, Samuel Montembeault came out make a play behind the net. He was quickly pressured by Carter Verhaeghe and sent a blind backhand toward the corner, where a defenseman was waiting, but the pass went above the goal line where Sam Bennett was waiting to one-time the puck into an empty net. Alex Texier made it 3-1 Montreal with 6:19 to go in the period, getting his stick on a backdoor deflection after a great feed by Alex Carrier. With 12:34 to go in the third period, Texier picked up another goal to extend the Habs lead to 4-1. Perhaps taking a cue from Texier, Bennett picked up his second goal of the game about four minutes later. He slammed home an Evan Rodrigues rebound with 8:37 to go, breathing a little life into the Cats. An empty-net goal by Slafkovský with 2:01 to go followed by a hat-trick tally by Texier in the final minute sealed the deal for the Canadiens and sent Florida to their fourth loss in five games. On to Ottawa. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Brad Marchand day-to-day, will not play Thursday in Montreal [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/brad-marchand-day-to-day-will-not-play-thursday-in-montreal] Panthers continue road trip with stop in Montreal looking to avoid losing ground in playoff race [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-continue-road-trip-with-stop-in-montreal-looking-to-avoid-losing-ground-in-playoff-race] Panthers Linked To Blues' Right-Handed Veteran Defenseman [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-linked-to-blues-right-handed-veteran-defenseman] Paul Maurice indicates Brad Marchand is fine, says holding him from third period in Toronto was coach's decision [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/paul-maurice-indicates-brad-marchand-is-fine-says-holding-him-from-third-period-in-toronto-was-coach-s-decision] Panthers open road trip with 4-1 loss to Toronto [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-open-road-trip-with-4-1-loss-to-toronto] 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)
