Montreal 10, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, April 29, 2022
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees:
Brandon Blandina, Pierre Lambert
Linesmen:
Michel Cormier, Jonathan Deschamps
Attendance:
21105
By Field Level Media
Cole Caufield collected his first career hat trick and Jordan Harris netted his first NHL goal as the host Montreal Canadiens finished their disappointing season with a 10-2 victory over the regular-season champion Florida Panthers on Friday.
Mike Hoffman, Brendan Gallagher, Mathieu Perreault, Jake Evans and Christian Dvorak each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (22-49-11, 55 points), who fell to the bottom of the league standings after reaching last season's Stanley Cup Final.
Montreal's Tyler Pitlick added a goal, and Carey Price made 37 saves. Only two Montreal skaters didn't manage a goal or an assist.
Ben Chiarot logged a goal and an assist and Noel Acciari also scored for Florida (58-18-6, 122 points). One night after the Panthers clinched the first Presidents' Trophy in franchise history, they rested a litany of key players in anticipation of the playoffs.
Jonas Johansson, Florida's third-string goalie, stopped 27 shots.
The Canadiens scored on their first three shots to take a 3-0 lead by the 4:30 mark. Harris, a 2018 third-round draft choice who signed last month after finishing his college career at Northeastern University, started it off with his first NHL goal at 1:57.
Hoffman doubled the lead when he buried a loose puck at 4:18, and Caufield made it a 3-0 game 12 seconds later by ripping a shot from the top of the circle. Gallagher extended the margin at 12:23 of the first with a power-play shot from the right circle.
Chiarot's power-play goal put the Panthers on the board with 97 seconds remaining in the frame, but Caufield restored Montreal's four-goal edge 93 seconds into the second period.
Perreault's one-timer from top of the left circle made it 6-1 at 3:55 of the middle frame, and Evans had a tap-in tally just over two minutes later.
Dvorak scored Montreal's season-high eighth goal in a game when he chipped home a rebound with 6:39 remaining in the second period.
Caufield potted his third of the game and 23rd of the season at 8:12 of the third period, and Pitlick made it double digits with his first of the season at 9:51.
Acciari rounded out the scoring with 5:05 remaining.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Montreal |
|
Ben Chiarot 2 |
Points |
Cole Caufield 3 |
|
Ben Chiarot 1 |
Goals |
Cole Caufield 3 |
|
Ben Chiarot 1 |
Assists |
Josh Anderson 2 |
|
Ben Chiarot 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Brendan Gallagher 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Jonas Johansson .730 |
Save Percentage |
Carey Price .949 |
|
Jonas Johansson 27 |
Saves |
Carey Price 37 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Florida
|
39 |
2 |
1-1 |
1-2 |
4 |
29 |
| Montreal
|
37 |
10 |
1-2 |
0-1 |
2 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
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Florida will play their next game at home against Washington. The Panthers have a W/L % of .741 after a win and .625 after a loss.
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