Eetu Luostarinen powers surging Panthers past Canadiens

Field Level Media|published: Sat 30th December, 22:08 2023

Dec 30, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (22) takes a shot at goal as Florida Panthers goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) defends during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. credits: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Eetu Luostarinen notched the first two-goal game of his career, leading the host Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla.

It was Florida's sixth straight win over Montreal and the Panthers' fourth consecutive victory overall.

Both of Luostarinen's goals came on the power play against Montreal, which ranked 29th in the league in penalty kill percentage entering Saturday.

Sam Bennett also scored and had an assist for the Panthers. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aaron Ekblad each provided two assists. Carter Verhaeghe sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

Cole Caufield scored a power-play goal for Montreal.

Both goalies got their first action in 12 days.

Florida's Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves to snap his two-game winless streak. He earned his first win since Dec. 10.

Montreal's Jake Allen made 22 saves.

Florida opened the scoring with 15:55 left in the second period. Evan Rodrigues got the primary assist for his shot from the point. That shot hit Luostarinen, who had set up a screen in front of Allen. Luostarinen then spun and batted the flying puck into the net.

Montreal's power-play unit tied the score with 12:59 remaining in the second. Nick Suzuki, who blew a great chance with a shot just over the crossbar earlier in the power play, earned the primary assist. He passed the puck down low to Caufield, who scored by roofing a backhander past Stolarz.

Florida appeared to take a 2-1 lead on Verhaeghe's goal with 10:05 left in the second. But Montreal challenged the play, and the goal was wiped out due to offsides.

With 12:26 left in the third, Florida took a 2-1 lead, and this time it counted. Luostarinen, positioned just below the left circle, took a pass from Ekblad and immediately attacked the net, beating Allen with a brilliant backhand move.

The Panthers extended their lead to 3-1 on Bennett's deflection of an Ekman-Larsson shot with 4:34 left.

Verhaeghe scored his empty-netter with 2:47 remaining.

—Field Level Media

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