Florida Panthers Face Montreal Canadiens in Gameday 78 Showdown

Mo. Basuony

Published: April 7, 2026 7:00 PM ET

On Gameday 78 the Florida Panthers face the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.

Matchup overview

Florida enters with a 37-37-3 record. Montreal is 45-22-10 and already clinched a playoff spot.

Montreal has surpassed 100 points for the first time since 2016-17. The season series concludes tonight.

Florida is on a two-game skid during a five-game road trip. The club lost 9-4 in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

They followed with a 5-2 defeat Sunday. Cole Schwindt scored his first goal since returning to tie the game 1-1.

Carter Verhaeghe added a long-range power-play tally late in the third for his 24th goal. Backup Danill Tarasov stopped 18 of 23 shots.

Seth Jones, Vinnie Hinostroza and Gustav Forsling were credited with assists in the latest game.

Montreal saw an eight-game winning streak end Sunday. Jacob Markstrom and New Jersey blanked them 3-0 at the Bell Centre.

Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 95 points. Cole Caufield sits one goal shy of a 50-goal season.

This is Game 3 of 3 in the season series. Florida is 0-1-1 against Montreal this year.

The teams last met on Jan. 8, 2026, when Montreal won 6-2 in Montreal. There will be no further meetings this season.

Projected starters list Danill Tarasov for Florida and Dobes for Montreal. Tarasov is 10-15-2 with a .892 save percentage.

Dobes is 27-8-4 with a .904 save percentage. Both goalies seek to steady their clubs on this important night.

Several division games also occur tonight. Tampa Bay visits Ottawa at 7 p.m. ET.

Columbus plays Detroit, and Boston visits Carolina. Buffalo is idle with 102 points.

Filmogaz.com will monitor the matchup as the Florida Panthers face Montreal Canadiens on Gameday 78. Fans can follow using #FLAvsMON and #TimeToHunt.