Dawn, Fla. (AP) — Eetu Luostarinen scored a pair of electric power-engage in targets as the Florida Panthers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday evening, extending their profitable streak to 4 games.
Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers, who outscored Montreal 3- in the third interval. Anthony Stolarz finished with 18 will save for Florida.
Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, who dropped their 2nd straight video game in regulation soon after having at minimum 1 stage in each individual of their previous five video games. Jake Allen stopped 22 pictures for Montreal.
“We performed some great groups and received some substantial wins,” Luostarinen stated after Florida wound up the 2023 calendar 12 months with wins around Vegas, Tampa Bay, the New York Rangers and now Montreal. “It’s a excellent close of the year for us.”
Luostarinen opened the scoring by deflecting an Evan Rodrigues shot 4:05 into the next interval. Caufield scored a electrical power-engage in objective of his personal 7:01 into the second, and then Luostarinen gave Florida the direct for excellent with 12:26 still left.
“He is just one of those people guys who pushes himself just about every working day in observe and in the game titles and he keeps driving,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice explained of Luostarinen. “Those men can make plays late in games since their fingers aren’t wobbly and they’re not fatigued. He has just been a good pressure.”
Bennett deflected an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot with 4:34 left for a 3-1 guide, and Verhaeghe added an empty-netter.
The Canadiens participate in their sixth recreation in a operate of seven straight on the road — a few ahead of Christmas, 4 pursuing the crack for the getaway — on Sunday night in Tampa Bay, a video game that’ll mark the fourth time former Lightning wonderful Martin St. Louis has been back again there as Montreal’s mentor.
Montreal is 1-2- in St. Louis’ a few previous appearances in Tampa as coach of the Canadiens. The Canadiens are -6- towards the Panthers considering that St. Louis took in excess of, Florida successful all of individuals games by at minimum a few goals.
“I assumed we had been doing work,” St. Louis stated. “They are a difficult staff and we have been 1-1 going into the 3rd after what I believed was a definitely very good initially interval. The second was great, but we still identified a way to be 1-1. It is tricky to participate in 60 minutes of good hockey when you are taking part in superior groups. They have to make you struggle at times. That’s just the video game. But I like my crew.”
It was Florida’s final sport of 2023, the 12 months in which the Panthers received more online games than ever before. They received 61 situations in 2023, a yr highlighted by a run to the Stanley Cup Final and just one that only extra to the greatest operate in the franchise’s history.
Over the past 3 calendar years, the Panthers have averaged 59.3 wins. In the franchise’s heritage, from 1993 by 2020, it averaged 31 wins per calendar year.
UP Upcoming
Canadiens: Stop by Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Panthers: Stop by Arizona on Tuesday to get started a 4-recreation excursion.
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