Panthers 4, Canadiens 1
MONTREAL -- Vincent Trocheck scored a goal and added an assist to help the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
Nick Bjugstad, Jiri Hudler and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers (39-22-9), who moved into the driver's seat in the race for the Atlantic Division lead.
Alex Galchenyuk scored the lone goal for Montreal (32-32-6).
Al Montoya stopped 27 shots for Florida while Mike Condon made 32 saves for the Canadiens.
The Panthers were in control early on, outshooting Montreal 10-2 near the halfway mark of the first period, and their efforts would pay off shortly thereafter.
Trocheck, named the NHL's second star of the week on Monday, kept on his recent hot streak with his 21st of the season to open the scoring. Reilly Smith dished off to Brian Campbell between the blue line and the left circle, and the veteran defenseman wasted little time in feeding Trocheck on the right side at 11:46 of the first period.
Bjugstad showed off his hand-eye coordination at 5:10 of the second period to double the Panthers' lead. With time winding down on an Alex Galchenyuk double-minor for hi-sticking, Aaron Ekblad fired a shot from the point. Condon made the save but the rebound bounced to the left, where Bjugstad batted home his second goal in as many games.
Hudler made it 3-0 at 12:45. Trocheck carried the puck in along the left side and around the net before taking a shot on Condon on a wraparound. He stopped the shot but couldn't contain the rebound and Hudler, in front, cashed in the rebound.
Galchenyuk brought the dormant Bell Centre crowd to life less than five minutes later. Pacioretty, along the right wall, dropped a pass for his center, who skated to the dot before sniping a wrister through traffic and past Montoya.
Barkov connected for a third straight game to restore Florida's three-goal lead. Jaromir Jagr, uncovered in the corner, dished off to Jonathan Huberdeau, who got around Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin to feed Barkov at the bottom of the right circle at 11:32 of the third period.
NOTES: Montreal LW Stefan Matteau returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. ... Canadiens C Lars Eller (flu) and D Nathan Beaulieu (lower body) sat out Tuesday night but were scheduled to travel with the team to Buffalo immediately following the game, while D P.K. Subban (neck) was ruled out for Tuesday's and Wednesday's games. ... Already without C Derek MacKenzie (lower body), Florida added LW Jussi Jokinen (lower body) and D Erik Gudbranson (lower body) to its list of walking wounded. However, RW Teddy Purcell returned after missing four games with a lower-body injury. C Quinton Howden was scratched. ... Called up earlier in the day from AHL Portland, C Greg McKegg drew into the lineup while D Dylan Olsen was a healthy scratch.