Florida Panthers take part in morning skate at Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 29. It’s always a fun night when the Comeback Cats make an appearance at Amerant Bank Arena. The Florida Panthers needed a late goal from Sam Reinhart and some shootout heroics from a pair of Finns to overcome the Montreal Canadiens, defeating them by a 4-3 final. A strong start by Florida would lead to Sasha Barkov cashing in on the game’s opening goal, a snipe that went right under the glove of Montreal goaltender Samuel Montembeault about seven minutes into the game. That seemed to wake up the Habs. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Nick Suzuki tied the game 83 seconds later after swooping behind a pinching Gustav Forsling and scoring on a breakaway, and from there, the rest of the first period was more evenly matched. That wasn’t the case when the teams took the ice for the middle frame, though. Florida recorded the first seven shots of the period before the Canadiens finally put a puck on Anthony Srtolarz, but the score remained tied. Similarly to the first period, Montreal began to find their legs and even things out, and similarly to the first, both teams would end up trading goals. First it was Sam Reinhart scoring his 40th goal of the season to put the Panthers back in front, but the Habs’ Juraj Slafkovsky evened the score with 0.7 seconds left off a clean faceoff win in the Florida end of the ice. Reinhart wasn’t done there. With Florida down in the third period following a power play goal by Alex Newhook, it was Reinhart scoring his fifth shorthanded goal of the season to even the game back up. For the third straight game, the Panthers would require more than 60 minutes to decide a winner, and for just the third time this season, overtime wasn’t enough to get there. A pair of pretty goals by Sasha Barkov and Anton Lundell clinched the shootout for the home team, giving Florida all six points on their three game homestand. On to Detroit. Here are some thoughts and observations from Thursday’s battle with the Canadiens: Stolarz appeared in his 100th NHL game. He made 28 saves en route to his eleventh victory as a Panther. Barkov was one of two Panthers to log three points on the night. He’s up to 58 points in 54 games this season. The other three-point guy was Sam Reinhart. If he gets hot again…watch out! Gus Forsling made several key defensive plays, including a pair of pass blocks on cross-ice passes low in Florida’s zone. Verhaeghe now has assists in three straight and five of his past six games. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Sam Reinhart scores 40th goal as epic season with Florida Panthers continues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sam-reinhart-scores-40th-goal-as-epic-season-with-florida-panthers-continues] 'Probably the best I have ever felt': At 35 years old, Sergei Bobrovsky thriving with Cup contending Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/probably-the-best-i-have-ever-felt-at-35-years-old-sergei-bobrovsky-thriving-with-cup-contending-panthers] Panthers rolling, set to wrap up homestand against struggling Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-rolling-set-to-wrap-up-homestand-against-struggling-canadiens] Three Takeaways: Starting strong not so easy anymore, Tkachuk in playoff-mode [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-starting-strong-not-so-easy-anymore-tkachuk-in-playoff-mode] Panthers hold off Sabres late charge, defeat Buffalo 3-2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-hold-off-sabres-late-charge-defeat-buffalo-3-2] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
