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MONTREAL — Jozef Stumpel was the lone scorer in a shootout as the Florida Panthers tied the game late and picked up a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
The Panthers (3-4-0) posted a third straight victory. Montreal fell to 2-1-2.
The Panthers had goaltender Tomas Vokoun pulled for an extra attacker and a power play had just ended when Nathan Horton fired into an open side against a helpless Cristobal Huet, tying the game with 11 seconds left in regulation.
Until then, Alex Kovalev's goal 2:53 into the game looked like it would hold up as Montreal out skated the Panthers for most of the game.
Florida Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun makes a save against Montreal Canadiens Alex Kovalev during the shootout Tuesday night in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)
Kovalev pulled the rebound of Roman Hamrlik's point shot back and lifted it over the fallen Vokoun on a power play for his second goal of the season.
It was Montreal's first goal in regulation time at the Bell Centre against Florida in more than a year. Last season, they were beaten 1-0 and won 1-0 in a shootout against the Panthers.
In the shootout, all three Montreal attempts were turned aside by Vokoun, while Stumpel deked to the backhand and slid Florida's third try into a open side.
Montreal outshot Florida 26-13 through the first two periods and 37-25 overall, but couldn't build on the Kovalev goal as Vokoun made save after save, including four each on dangerous chances by Michael Ryder and Andrei Kostitsyn.
Coach Guy Carbonneau made lineup changes looking for more energy from the Canadiens and looked to have got it, though they were up against a listless Florida side.
Even a tepid second-period fight between Tom Kostopoulos and Noah Welch failed to get much of a rise out of the 21,273 spectators in a game with frequent whistles.
Panthers captain Olli Jokinen, thwarted in a bid to jam the puck under Huet 12 minutes into the third period, remains tied with Scott Mellanby for the team scoring record with 354 career points and one goal behind Mellanby with 156.
It was the first stop on a three-game Canadian tour for the Panthers, who play in Toronto on Thursday night and in Ottawa on Saturday
The Canadiens visit Ottawa on Thursday.
