Samuel Montembeault makes a successful return and the Canadiens win in overtime

DansLesCoulisses.com
Samuel Montembeault makes a successful return and the Canadiens win in overtime
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

The Canadiens continued their trip to Florida by facing the Panthers on Tuesday evening. For the occasion, Samuel Montembeault got his first start since his stint with the Laval Rocket.

Here's the Canadiens' lineup:

Here's the Panthers lineup:

Before the game, Brad Marchand was honored by the Panthers for his 1,000 NHL points. He was presented with a gold stick for the occasion.

The first period was all about goaltending.

It was good news for Montembeault, who turned aside all nine Panthers shots in the first period.

At the other end, the Canadiens unleashed seven shots and Daniil Tarasov was also perfect.

It was still 0-0 after 20 minutes.

The second period belonged to the Canadiens.

Cole Caufield had Tarasov at his mercy, but he hit the post.

Montembeault continued his good work in the second period. The Québécois looked calm in front of his net and made some good saves.

Monty even saved his team's ass. He countered an overhit to prevent Florida from opening the scoring.

The Québécois goalie was perfect against 17 shots during the first forty minutes of play.

The two teams headed back to the locker room with the score still 0-0.

It was Brad Marchand's night in Sunrise, and he found the perfect way to celebrate.

The Panthers' pest opened the scoring midway through the third period with a veiled shot from the top of the circles.

It took the Panthers 23 shots to finally beat Montembeault. Not a bad comeback.

With the wind in their sails, Florida also scored the game's second goal. Sam Reinhart doubled his team's lead.

Normally, the Canadiens concede a quick goal after scoring one. This time, it was the opposite!

Cole Caufield finally solved the Tarasov puzzle, putting the Habs on the scoreboard.

The Canadiens pulled Montembeault with just under two minutes to go and, as in the last game, the strategy worked!

Nick Suzuki's on-arrival shot tied the game for the Habs.

We needed overtime in this close game.

It may have been Marchand's night, but he didn't look brilliant in overtime. He served up a big hit to the head of Mike Matheson, who had trouble getting up afterwards.

This powerplay proved to be extremely dangerous. Montreal had plenty of chances, but the one that stood out was the post hit by Nick Suzuki.

The captain recovered just before the end of the power play to score the winning goal.

The Canadiens won their last game of 2025 3-2 in overtime!

The Habs will be back in action on January 1 with a visit to the Hurricanes in Carolina.


Overtime

– Arber Xhekaj played his 200th NHL game.

– Ivan Demidov gets better every game.

– His stay in Laval did him good.

– The Canadiens' indiscipline cost them dearly.

– Nick Suzuki is special.

– Not bad!

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