Panthers' top line sizzles entering matchup with Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens have 24 Stanley Cup titles, the most in NHL history.

The Florida Panthers, meanwhile, have never won hockey's most coveted trophy.

Yet when the Panthers face the Canadiens on Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla., it is the hosts who are far closer to a championship-caliber season than the rebuilding visitors.

The Panthers have won three straight games, an impressive streak considering they beat Vegas, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers. The reigning Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights and the Rangers are two of the three teams tied for the NHL lead with 49 points, and Tampa Bay has won two of the previous four Stanley Cup titles.

A major key for Florida is the line of center Aleksander Barkov and wingers Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues.

Over the past two games, that line has produced five goals and seven assists. Barkov logged six of the assists, and Reinhart posted four of the goals, including two on Friday in the Panthers' 4-3 win over the Rangers.

"We're having a lot of fun," Rodrigues said of his line. "We (started the season) hot, and our chemistry has continued to build."

Rodrigues said Barkov is a "freak" at everything.

"Barky won't blow you away with his speed, but he does everything right," Rodrigues said. "He makes it so easy for us to play because every wall battle you know he's coming out with the puck.

"Playing with Barky, all we have to do is find the soft area, and he will drag two guys to him and get you the puck with so much space. I think that's why Sam has been so successful this year."

Indeed, Reinhart leads Florida in goals (23) and points (44). He also has 10 power-play goals, which leads the NHL.

Florida, which is 14-0-2 when scoring first, also is playing good defense, as evidenced by the Panthers killing 16 consecutive power plays.

Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky leads the Eastern Conference with 17 victories.

The Canadiens arrive in Florida with a 2-1-1 record on their current seven-game trip. Montreal has been off since losing 5-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

The Canadiens were playing their first game after a five-day holiday hiatus, and defenseman Mike Matheson said the squad was rusty.

"That's normal after a break," he said.

Added Montreal forward Josh Anderson: "I thought our team played well. (Carolina) is a good team, but we were right there with them."

Montreal's roster includes two former Panthers: Matheson, who is second on the team with 25 points and is closing in on his career high of 34 points; and goalie Sam Montembeault, who tops the Canadiens in wins (7-4-3, 2.86 goals-against average).

However, Cayden Primeau has started the Canadiens' past two games in net. Primeau, a 2017 seventh-round draft pick, had appeared in just 21 NHL games played entering this season. In the current campaign, Primeau is 4-4-0 with a 3.30 GAA.

Team captain Nick Suzuki leads Montreal in goals (10) and assists (20). The Canadiens haven't had a 40-goal scorer in 30 years, and that streak likely will continue this season.

—Field Level Media