Lundell Gets Shootout Winner, Reinhart scores Twice in Panthers Comeback Win Over Canadiens

SUNRISE — Anton Lundell scored the shootout winner as the Panthers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Thursday night after trailing late in the third.

Florida moved back to first place in the NHL in the win and became the second team to win 40 games this season. 

“It was a good hockey game today. They didn’t give us anything easy,” Lundell said. “We knew it’s not going to be easy so we had to battle every shift.”

Anthony Stolarz, who played in his 100th NHL game, had 28 saves for his 11th win of the season.

“Who would’ve thought 25-30 years ago that you’d be here,” Stolarz said. “I’m grateful for it and at the same time [I’m] not taking it for granted.”

Aleksander Barkov and Nick Suzuki are both likely to finish near the top of the Selke voting at the end of the season. While they are known for their defensive abilities, the two captains exchanged goals in the first. 

Barkov opened the scoring with his 14th goal of the season 7:01 into the first. Suzuki answered under 90 seconds later, making it 1-1. Both players finished the night with a goal and two assists. 

Sam Reinhart was on a bit of a cold streak going into Thursday night’s game. He was riding a seven-game goalless streak — the longest of the year.

Sitting on 39 goals for over two weeks, Reinhart finally broke the ice, becoming the fourth player in Panthers history to score 40 goals in a season on Thursday. 

With 5:52 left in the second period, Reinhart beat Canadiens’ goalie Sam Montembeault for his 40th. 

“It’s felt like a long time,” Reinhart said. “It’s nice to get back in the scoresheet, to get another win, especially before going on the road. We’ve got a couple of big games coming up.”

There have been five 40-goal seasons in Panthers history; Pavel Bure did it twice (1999-00, 2000-01), while Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe both did it last season (2022-23). 

Up 2-1 near the end of the second period, the Panthers were just one faceoff away from taking a one-goal lead into the intermission. 

Juraj Slafkovsky didn’t let that happen. 

With 0.7 seconds left in the period, Suzuki won the draw straight to Slafkovsky and the Habs’ 19-year-old forward fired a shot past Panthers’ goalie Anthony Stolarz for his 13th goal of the season. 

Montreal would carry the momentum of Slafkovsky’s late goal out of the intermission and they grabbed their first lead of the night early in the third. 

On the power play, Alex Newhook beat Stolarz up high for his ninth goal of the season, 3:27 into the third. 

Three goals against has been an unusual sight for the Panthers as of late. Montreal became the first team to put more than two goals in the Panthers’ net since Minnesota scored six on Jan. 18. Florida went 14 straight games conceding two or fewer goals before Thursday night. 

Montreal would keep hold of their lead late into the third — and the way the period was trending — it looked as if they were going to sneak out of Sunrise with the two points. 

After scoring his 40th and snapping his goal drought, Sam Reinhart got his team back in the game when they needed him the most. 

Leading by one with just over seven minutes left in regulation, Montreal looked to ice the game on the power play. 

But, Reinhart didn’t hear a bell.

Barkov intercepted a pass at center ice and carried the transition rush alongside Reinhart.

Reinhart tucked away his second goal of the night and 41st of the season right under the bar, tying the game with 6:55 to go in regulation. 

“He impacts everything we do,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Reinhart. “There’s just very few men in the history of the game who get the 40-goal mark. It’s a huge accomplishment. He’s earned it.” 

The two teams remained tied after regulation and finished overtime the same way. 

Aleksander Barkov and Cole Caufield both scored in the shootout for their teams before Anton Lundell got the game winner and the extra point for Florida. 

The Panthers will hit the road for their next three games before returning home on March 7 against Philadelphia.