For one last time this season, the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] will take on the defending champions, the Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers], on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. This will be the third meeting between the two sides, and the Habs will be going for the season sweep after winning the first two matchups. In fact, Montreal has now won seven consecutive games against the Florida outfit, with the visitors only having won three of the last 10 tilts. While the hosts have a fantastic 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games, the visitors have a 4-6-0 record over the same span and have lost their last two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins], being outscored 14-6 in the process. It should be noted that Florida is playing without many of its regulars right now: captain Aleksander Barkov, who has missed the entire season; Brad Marchand; Evan Rodrigues; Sam Reinhart; Anton Lundell; Aaron Ekblad; and Jonah Gadjovich. Most of whom are likely to be out for the rest of the season. Canadiens’ Laine May Not Play, But He Supports The Team [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-laine-may-not-play-but-he-supports-the-team] Hage Likely To Play In Frozen Four Semi-Final [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/hage-likely-to-play-in-frozen-four-semi-final] Canadiens’ Matheson Quietly Having Good Bounce Back Season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-matheson-quietly-having-good-bounce-back-season] Both teams had a day off yesterday and have yet to confirm who will be tending the net, but I would expect Jakub Dobes to be back in the net after Jacob Fowler lost 3-0 to the New Jersey Devils in his last outing. The Czech netminder has won his only game against the Cats, shutting them out 4-0 in his NHL debut back in December 2024. As for Fowler, he has never faced them since Samuel Montembeault was on duty for both games against his former team this season. Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky has a 16-10-1 record against the Canadiens with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage, while backup Daniil Tarasov is 0-1-1 with a 2.72 GAA and a .897 SV. The backup was in net for the Cats’ last game, so the smart money is on Bobrovsky being back between the pipes, eager to bounce back after being yanked in a 9-4 loss against Pittsburgh. Up front, fans and media alike are still on the “Cole Caufield 50-goal watch”, and the sniper has put up 14 points in 16 duels against the Cats, including eight goals, but only one of those was scored against Bobrovsky. Brendan Gallagher remains the Canadiens’ most productive player against Florida with 24 points in 42 games, but captain Nick Suzuki is fast catching up with 23 points in just 21 games. That bodes well for Suzuki, who currently has 95 points and just needs one to tie Pierre Turgeon as the Canadiens’ captain who has put up the most points in a single season with 96 in 1995-96. With five games to go, chances are Suzuki would also like to reach the century mark, and a depleted Panthers side might just be exactly what the doctor ordered. Finally, Josh Anderson is tied with Caufield as the Habs’ third most productive player against the visitors, but he needed 25 games to register his 14 points. As for the visitors, uber pest Matthew Tkachuk is their most productive player against Montreal with 28 points in just 26 games, followed by Sam Bennett, who has 24 points in 30 games and Seth Jones, who has 15 points in 28 tilts. Reinhart, Ekblad and Marchand would all have been up there, but as mentioned earlier, they are all out of commission. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch the game on RDS, TSN2, and SCRIPPS. Eric Furlatt and Justin Kea are set to officiate, while Trent Knorr and Jeremy Faucher will be the linemen. The Canadiens are currently third in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres] and the Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning], who now both have 102 points thanks to the Sabres’ 4-2 win over the Bolts on Monday night. As for the Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes], they lead the Eastern Conference with 104 points, and are still mathematically catchable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. 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