In Montreal, Monday, the Florida Panthers moved up the Eastern Conference playoff ladder with a 2-0 win over the Canadiens.
Roberto Luongo made 28 saves to get the shutout win.
With the win, the Panthers moved within three points of the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card spot in the conference.
Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov were the strikers for Florida who improved to 36-27-7.
“It’s huge. We have games in hand as well, so we’re a very excited team, there’s no doubt about it,” Ekblad said. “And everybody in this room knows what we have and knows what’s in front of us, and the work and the challenge that we have, and we’re ready to step up.”
The shutout loss was the second straight for the Habs who dropped to 26-35-12.
“They won battles, they won races. They’re a team fighting for a playoff spot, and at the end of the night, we weren’t able to compete with that. It’s the right answer, and it’s the honest answer,” Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said after the loss.
The Panthers have two games in hand on the Devils.
“There’s a lot of confidence in this room,” Ekblad said. “I’m not going to say wins come easy, because they never do, but a lot of us are feeling very confident in ourselves, you know, making strong plays and doing the right things.”
[WATCH: All Panthers vs. Canadiens highlights]
Antti Niemi made 38 saves in taking the loss.
“[Niemi] played a heck of a game,” the Canadiens’ Jacob de la Rose said. “We should have won this for him. He kept us in the game, but we couldn’t create enough offense.”
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