The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers 7-4

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Puck management was a big problem as the Canadians dropped a 7-4 decision against the Florida Panthers Tuesday at the FLA Live Arena.

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Mike Hoffman turned the puck around and Jonathan Huberdeau took the opportunity to equalize 4-4 when he scored his second goal of the match at 1:19 of the third half. Hoffman puts a pass on Ryan Lomberg’s stick in the defense zone and Sam Bennett Huberdeau assists with a backhand.

Mason Marchment added a goal late in the third half and Alexander Barkov scored a blank goal as Huberdeau scored the decisive pass on his third point of the night.

The Canadians showed their resilience once again as they scored three goals in 1:43 late in the second half to tie the Panthers 4-4.

The Canadians were leading 15-1 in the period when Nick Suzuki moved around the net and made his first goal for Joel Edmondson at 16:24. He also helped rookie Justin Barron score his first point in the National Hockey League. On their next trip on the ice, Mathieu Perrault found Laurent Dauphin in the lead at 16:56.

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Christian Dvorak completed the comeback when he scored at 18:06.

And the Canadians seemed to be on their guard when Bennett and Lumberburg scored early in the period to give Florida a 4-1 lead. It was the 26th goal of the season for Bennett and the eighth for Lomberg, who climbed to the first line with Huberdeu and Barkoff after scoring in the first half.

Momentum took an abrupt turn after Panthers’ Noel Acciari was sent off for stumbling at 15:06 of the first period.

The Canadians struggled to organize in the power game and Jake Allen had to save Claude Giroud in a big way. He wasn’t so lucky seconds later when Florida had another brief chance after Barron, who was playing his second game for the Canadians, lost the disc in the neutral zone. This resulted in a target shortened by Huberdeau. It was Huberdeau’s 22nd goal of the season and the Panthers’ 10th.

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The Panthers later scored 1:40 to take the lead with a 2-1 lead when fourth-line Lumberjack scored his first two goals. Jake Evans lost the disc along the boards when there was no call after he was clipped by Akari’s wand. Future Hall of Famer helped Joe Thornton score the goal.

The Canadians were trapped on their end in the first two minutes, but they benefited from their first breakthrough. Dauphin led the 3-on-2 break, but it was railroad worker Chris Weidman who opened the scoring when he jumped into the play and took a pass from Jesse Yellonen.

It was the third goal of the season for Wideman, who has revived his NHL career after being named the Premier League’s best defense last season. The 32-year-old, who has extended his current points streak to four games (1-3-4), is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He is unlikely to be with the Canadians next season, but he’ll attract some interest from teams looking for an attacking defensive man who can play in the middle.

phickey@postmedia.com

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