Alexei Emelin made a great diving play to knock the puck off the goal-line and was assessed a penalty for knocking the net off its moorings. It was a bad call, but the Panthers weren’t able to take advantage, and didn’t score on their man advantage.
The Panthers were much more the aggressors in the second period, overtaking the Canadiens in possession and leading in shot attempts 27-21 by the midway point of the second period when David Desharnais tapped home his eleventh goal of the season on a pass from Paul Byron as the two broke in on an odd-man rush.
The Habs extended their lead to 3-0 with Lars Eller setting up Torrey Mitchell from along the boards as they entered the Panthers’ zone two on two. Mitchell set a career high in goals with his eleventh of the season.
The Panthers drew to within two, breaking Mike Condon’s shutout streak, off a faceoff win by Jonathan Huberdeau who set up Aleksander Barkov for a one time shot from the slot that Barkov buried.
Barkov scored his second of the period with 33.6 second remaining to make it 3-2 Habs. Tomas Plekanec juggled a puck in the slot that came loose, allowing a shot from Aaron Ekblad that Condon stopped but the rebound went right to Barkov who made it 3-2.
Scoring Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:14 | MTL | Brendan Gallagher (19) Snap shot – ASST: Joel Hanley (6), Max Pacioretty (31) | 1 – 0 MTL | |
| 2ND PERIOD | ||||
| 10:10 | MTL | David Desharnais (11) Wrist shot – ASST: Paul Byron (7), Darren Dietz (3) | 2 – 0 MTL | |
| 11:19 | MTL | Torrey Mitchell (11) Tip-in – ASST: Lars Eller (12), Tomas Plekanec (38) | 3 – 0 MTL | |
| 13:13 | FLA | Aleksander Barkov (25) Snap shot – ASST: Jonathan Huberdeau (37) | 3 – 1 MTL | |
| 19:26 | FLA | Aleksander Barkov (26) Wrist shot – ASST: Aaron Ekblad (17) | 3 – 2 MTL | |
Penalty Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||
|---|---|---|
| 00:34 | FLA | Jaromir Jagr Hooking – 2 min against Alex Galchenyuk |
| 2ND PERIOD | ||
| 01:13 | MTL | Alexei Emelin Delaying the game – 2 min |
Shots
| PERIOD | MTL | FLA |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 10 | 7 |
| 2nd | 9 | 15 |
| Total | 19 | 22 |
Team Stats
| CATEGORY | MTL | FLA |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 0/1 | 0/1 |
| Hits | 13 | 13 |
| Faceoff Wins | 21 | 22 |
| Giveaways | 4 | 6 |
| Takeaways | 7 | 8 |
| Blocked Shots | 7 | 5 |
| Penalty Minutes | 2 | 2 |
