Canadiens’ rally spoils Marchand’s night with 3-2 overtime win over Panthers

Advertisement

Advertise with us

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored a power-play goal 3:24 into overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to stun the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!

As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.

Now, more than ever, we need your support.

Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.

Subscribe Now

or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.

Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
  • Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
Start now

No thanks

*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored a power-play goal 3:24 into overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to stun the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Suzuki also scored late in regulation to tie the game for the Canadiens, who improved to 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal.

Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, but Marchand was called for roughing 1:27 into overtime — giving Montreal a 4-on-3 advantage.

Montreal Canadiens centre Nick Suzuki (14) scores the game winning goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) during overtime in an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Montreal Canadiens centre Nick Suzuki (14) scores the game winning goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Daniil Tarasov (40) during overtime in an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The Panthers paid tribute to Marchand’s 1,000th career point in a pre-game ceremony. Marchand reached the milestone point in mid-November, but chose this game — against Montreal, one of his longtime rivals when he was with Boston and a team coached by one of his idols, Martin St. Louis — for the formal celebration.

The game was scoreless after two periods, just the 11th such game in the NHL this season and the first for both the Panthers and the Canadiens. And it was the first time a Florida-Montreal matchup saw no goals in the first 40 minutes of action since Feb. 14, 2013 — a contest that ended up as a 1-0 road win for the Canadiens.

But the final 10 minutes on Tuesday were wild.

Marchand opened the scoring at 10:18 and Reinhart connected with 4:59 left to put Florida up 2-0. Back came Montreal, with Caufield scoring 32 seconds after Reinhart’s goal and then Suzuki tying it up with 1:22 remaining.

It was the final game of 2025 for both teams. Montreal’s 21 wins going into New Year’s Day are its most since having 21 wins at this point during the 2018-19 season.

And Florida — which has played in each of the last three Stanley Cup finals, winning the last two titles — played its 106th game of the year, the third straight year in which the Panthers have topped 100 games.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

Panthers: Host the New York Rangers on Friday in the Winter Classic at Miami.

___

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Report Error Submit a Tip

Sports Breaking News

LOAD MORE