Panthers Roll To 4-1 Win Over Canadiens
SUNRISE (AP) — Brian Campbell, Aleksander Barkov and Dmitry Kulikov each scored goals to lift the Florida Panthers over the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Sunday night.
Sean Bergenheim added an empty-net goal with 17 seconds left. Tom Gilbert had two assists.
Scott Clemmensen stopped 21 shots for the Panthers, who broke a three-game losing streak and beat Montreal for the second time this month. Clemmensen is 8-1 against the Canadiens.
Montreal lost for the first time in three games.
Brandon Prust scored for the Canadiens, and Peter Budaj made 21 saves.
Florida stretched its lead to 3-1 on Barkov's goal in the second period. Gilbert's shot from the slot was tipped in by Barkov at 14:29. Barkov has seven points in six games.
The Canadiens had a goal disallowed for the second time in the game with 12:37 left. Danny Briere swept a loose puck into the net, but it was ruled that Alex Galchenyuk prevented Clemmensen from playing his position before the shot.
The Canadiens also appeared to score with 6:34 remaining in the first, but the goal was waved off because Brian Gionta was called for knocking the puck down with a high stick at the blue line.
Montreal tied it 1-1 in the second period on Prust's goal. Prust picked up the puck while sliding through the slot and wristed a shot on net. The puck deflected in off Clemmensen at 2:56.
The Panthers reclaimed the lead less than two minutes later. A shot by Campbell bounced off Budaj and popped up in the air over his head. The puck hit the ice in front and went in off Budaj's skate to make it 2-1.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Kulikov's goal in the first period during 4-on-4 play. Kulikov took a pass from Tomas Fleischmann in the left circle and beat Budaj on the stick side at 6:10. The goal was Kulikov's first in 28 games.
NOTES: Florida G Tim Thomas missed his eighth straight game due to a groin injury. Thomas had been expected to start Sunday. ... Florida forward Tomas Kopecky played in his 500th NHL game. ... Budaj got the start over Carey Price, who played Saturday night at Tampa Bay. ... The attendance of 19,891 was Florida's largest crowd of the season.
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