Overview
- Cole Caufield tallied his team-leading 33rd goal and added an assist, while Christian Dvorak scored his milestone 100th career NHL goal in the Canadiens' 3-1 win.
- Montreal's Patrik Laine opened the scoring with a power-play goal, his 13th of the season with the man-advantage, early in the first period.
- The Canadiens' victory keeps them within one point of an Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spot, with 71 points in the standings.
- Florida's Mackie Samoskevich scored in the second period, continuing his strong rookie season, but the Panthers faced challenges with key players Tkachuk, Ekblad, and Marchand unavailable.
- Rookie Lane Hutson reached 50 career NHL assists in just 68 games, becoming the fourth-fastest defenseman in league history to achieve this milestone.