The Florida Panthers started the new year (2022) off with a 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens. The Panthers didn’t get off to a great start, however, they would go on to score four unanswered in the second and third period to capture the win. It was a much-needed win too, as the Panthers entered as -650 favorites.
Period by Period Summary
Florida opened up scoring in Saturday’s affair just over 30 seconds in. Thanks to Anthony Duclair’s beautiful pass, Sam Bennett recorded the Cats’ first goal of 2022. However, the Habs would respond not long after with Jonathan Drouin scoring his sixth goal of the season.
The Habs weren’t done there. Early in the second, Nick Suzuki scored his first goal since the NHL took a midseason pause. That gave the Habs a 2-1 lead. Florida would respond later in the period with Alexander Barkov scoring his 12th goal of the season. This tied Anthony Duclair for the team lead in goals. Not long after that, Frank Vatrano scored on a perfect pass from Sam Reinhart to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
Florida wasn’t done there. In the third period, Sam Bennett scored his second goal of the game on a deflection in front of the net. Mason Marchment also wanted to add himself to the score sheet, so he scored a goal to make the score 5-2.
It’s Florida’s third consecutive win and so far, the Cats have not lost a game since the NHL paused its season.
Up Next
On Tuesday, the Panthers will host the Calgary Flames (16-7-6). Puck drop is at 7:00 PM.
(Featured image by Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald)