The NHL champion Florida Panthers, who were in a Christmas mood, succumbed to the Montreal Canadiens, who won for the fourth time in the last five games.
Montreal Canadiens Czech goalkeeper Jakub Dobes immediately saved a clean sheet in his NHL debut against the reigning champion Florida Panthers, as the Canadian visitors grabbed a surprising 4-0 away win on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper, born in Ostrava, needed 34 saves in his clean sheet. Montreal’s second hero had nailed the first two complete hits, doubling his goal balance for the season at once Kirby Dach.
Attracted attention in the NHL with his power play goals Patrick Laine didn’t get to the points this time, but the man from Tampere excelled in Dach’s goals with an excellent “dirty job” and marked a decent +2 on the plus/minus statistic.
In the opening goal, Laine kept the puck well in the attack zone, absorbing three Florida players, when Dach was able to score a 1-0 goal in 21:39.
In the Canadiens’ 2–0 goal, Laine, on the other hand, did a good job, and Dach kicked it to score in 33:51. Laine was practically a “three-pointer” for his team’s opening hits. In the 11 matches he has played, Laine has scored eight goals and assisted one hit.
Also Montreal’s second Finn Joel Armia got to plus in the power statistic, +1. He was on the ice when Jake Evans scored a 3–0 goal at the end of the second period with an underpowered effort. The final numbers to 4–0 sealed the final set Cole Caulfield.
Florida missed a goal for the fourth time in a month and lost its second game in a row with goals of 0-4.
About the Finns of the Panthers Alexander Barkov, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen played as usual, but the defender Niko Mikkola was on the sidelines after receiving a cut to his upper body in the previous game.
NHL round of the night
Standings