Game 39: Montreal Canadiens @ Florida Panthers
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Panthers region: SCRIPPS
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
A year ago, the Montreal Canadiens closed out 2024 with a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. The victory brought them to a 17-17-3 record, and reaching that .500 point percentage benchmark was a sign of the progress that the team had made. Still, sitting sixth in the division, a full seven points behind the third-placed Boston Bruins, the playoffs were an afterthought in most minds.
Of course, the rest was history.
Fast forward to today, and the Canadiens go into the final game of 2025 with a 20-12-6 record on the season and a 43-26-14 mark for the calendar year. Entering the 2025-26 campaign with an even younger roster than the season prior, no one would have been surprised if the Habs took a step back. Instead, they have continued where they left off, showing that their trip to the playoffs was no fluke. A year on from looking for small glimmers, the Canadiens’ success has brought them firmly into the spotlight — and bestowed upon them the expectations that come with such a place.
The Canadiens arrive in Sunrise on the back of a memorable, entertaining, encouraging, and frustrating 5-4 shootout defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a game that Montreal arguably deserved to win twice or thrice over, yet at the same time were fortunate to come back from a three-goal deficit in the third period; a game that encapsulated both the Canadiens’ capabilities and talent and their susceptibility to opportunism and inconsistency. Regardless of how they got there, the end result in Tampa marked the fifth straight game where Montreal earned at least one point, and the eighth such outcome in the last nine affairs.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Panthers |
|---|---|---|
| 20-12-6 | Record | 21-15-2 |
| 48.6% (24th) | Expected-goal share | 52.0% (8th) |
| 3.29 (5th) | Goals per game | 3.21 (10th) |
| 3.29 (25th) | Goals against per game | 3.16 (18th) |
| 25.0% (4th) | PP% | 18.3% (20th) |
| 77.9% (22nd) | PK% | 83.1% (6th) |
| 4-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record (24-25) | 0-3-1 |
| Cole Caufield (18) | Most goals | Brad Marchand (22) |
| Nick Suzuki (31) | Most assists | Brad Marchand (22) |
| Nick Suzuki (42) | Most points | Brad Marchand (44) |
What awaits them is a Florida Panthers team slowly clawing itself back into the hunt. Beset with injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, as well as the natural wear and tear that comes with being two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Panthers started slow. However, Paul Maurice’s charges have hit their stride in December, coming into the last game of 2025 with a 9-4-1 record in its final month.
Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand have led the way, with 19 (42 on the season) and 17 (44) points, respectively, during this stretch. Sam Bennett has chipped in 16, more than doubling his season point total (28) in a single month. Florida’s revitalized offence (their 48 goals in December is third-highest in the league) has vaulted them from 27th overall at the start of the month all the way to a current ranking of 13th. That said, they still have their vulnerabilities: their 44 goals allowed in December is seventh-worst in the league, their secondary scoring is somewhat absent (only six players with more than one goal this month compared to Montreal’s nine), and their goaltending has been charitably average (Danill Tarasov and Sergei Bobrovsky have .887 and .889 save percentages this month).
The Panthers are coming off a 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals the night before in DC, so Tarasov will likely play the second half of the back-to-back. In response, Martin St-Louis has given Samuel Montembeault his first NHL start since December 19. It will be a baptism by fire for the Bécancour native, who stopped 47 of 52 shots in two starts during his conditioning stint with the Laval Rocket.
The Canadiens close their year in the same way as many of their fans — basking in the warmth of sunny Florida. No matter the outcome of this game, their 2025 has been a resounding success, likely beyond the expectations of even their most optimistic fans. The next objective will be to improve their consistency, to see if they can bring the same effort against the Panthers that they showed against the Lightning — minus the second-period deficit, of course.
