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Sports

Canadiens rout lowly Panthers

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Sunrise, FL – Michael Ryder led Montreal with a pair of goals as the Canadiens downed the Florida Panthers, 5-2, on Sunday.

Brian Gionta, David Desharnais and Francis Bouillon also lit the lamp for the Canadiens, who have won three straight games.

Peter Budaj stopped 14 of the 16 shots he saw in the triumph.

Shawn Matthias and Tomas Kopecky each tallied for the Panthers, losers in three straight and six of their last seven tilts overall.

Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves, but allowed all five goals in the setback.

"It's unacceptable," said Matthias of the Panthers' performance. "I've been through this before, it's not fun. I'm sick of losing, I'm sick of being down, it's wearing on you. I'm just really tired of it, we need to change things. We need to turn this ship around. It's gone on long enough."

Montreal scored two goals in both the first and second periods to give the Canadiens a 4-0 edge after 40 minutes.

Desharnais lit the lamp with a slapper just 1:46 into the game. Brendan Gallagher dropped it back to Desharnais deep in the Florida zone, and Desharnais blasted it past Markstrom.

Ryder notched his first goal of the game on a power play after redirecting P.K. Subban's shot from the top of the right circle.

Gionta and Bouillon scored just under two minutes apart in the second. Gionta pounded home a rebounds after Markstrom stopped Subban's shot from the slot, and Bouillon scored after Ryder centered a pass on an odd-man rush.

"I was very happy with the way we dictated the match tonight and played our game at our rhythm right until the very end," Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien remarked.

Kopecky got the Panthers on the board with just over 12 minutes left in the third with an unassisted goal and Matthias beat Budaj with a snap shot with 6:03 remaining.

Ryder's re-direction with 4:07 left accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Tomas PleKanec had two assists for the Canadiens ... Montreal went 2-for-7 on the power play ... The Panthers wasted their only power play opportunity ... Florida was outshot 38-16.