Habs clinch, Panthers eliminated from playoff contention
MONTREAL -- Brendan Gallagher enjoyed a career night with a goal and three assists to send the Canadiens to a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers that allowed Montreal to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Paul Byron scored twice for the Canadiens (44-24-9), who also got goals from Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault.
Reilly Smith and Michael Matheson scored for Florida, which was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss and the Boston Bruins' win.
Carey Price stopped 29 shots for Montreal. Reto Berra made 27 saves for the Panthers (33-33-11), who dropped their third straight.
Montreal had its legs ready in this one, outshooting Florida 6-1 early one.
The Canadiens tested Berra on several occasions and finally broke through at 7:24. Nathan Beaulieu skated in from the blue line before sending a pass intended for Gallagher that touched the winger's stick before rolling to Byron in the right circle.
Plekanec doubled Montreal's lead less than three minutes later when took a Gallagher feed in the slot and beat Berra.
Byron notched his second of the night at 13:19 when Beaulieu sent a perfect pass his way in the slot.
Outshot 17-9 in the first period, the Panthers came to play in the second, topping the Canadiens 13-8 on the shot clock.
After failing to connect on a lengthy 5-on-3, Florida finally broke through at 10:41 of the second period. Jussi Jokinen found Smith in the right circle and the winger fired one that quickly went in and out to put the Panthers on the board.
Pacioretty restored Montreal's three-goal lead at 3:52 of the third period. With a 2-on-1 inside the Florida zone, Alexander Radulov waited patiently before dishing off to the Canadiens captain, who fired home his 35th of the season.
Matheson, a Montreal native, brought the Panthers back to within a pair nearly five minutes later when Vincent Trocheck found him at the top of the left circle.
Gallagher made it 5-2 when he tipped in Brandon Davidson's point shot at 12:55. Danault added to the rout with a shot from his knees in the circle at 16:49.
NOTES: Florida G James Reimer missed the game after sustaining an upper-body injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. ... C Aleksander Barkov was a late scratch for the Panthers with an upper-body injury, while D Aaron Ekblad (upper-body) and C Michael Sgarbossa (healthy) were also scratched. ... Montreal D Jamie Benn was sidelined with an undisclosed injury suffered on Tuesday. ... Canadiens C Torrey Mitchell didn't dress for the first time this season while C/W Brian Flynn, RW Michael McCarron and D Nikita Nesterov were also healthy scratches. ... Panthers D Jason Demers played in his 500th NHL game. ... C Tomas Plekanec appeared in his 917th NHL game with Montreal, tying Serge Savard for 10th place on the franchise's all-time games-played list.