Caufield and Texier score in shootout, Canadiens come back to beat Panthers 4-3

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) makes a save against Florida Panthers' A.J. Greer (10) as Canadiens' Mike Matheson (8) defends during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier scored in the shootout after Nick Suzuki’s late tying goal as the Montreal Canadiens came back to beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Ivan Demidov and Phillip Danault also scored in regulation as playoff-bound Montreal (46-22-10) won for the ninth time in 10 games. Juraj Slafkovsky added two assists and Jakub Dobes made 30 saves for his sixth consecutive win.

Caufield remained one goal shy of his 50th for the third consecutive game after scoring Nos. 48 and 49 on Thursday against the New York Rangers.

Eetu Luostarinen, Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Reinhardt replied for fading Florida (37-37-4), which lost its eighth straight game against the Canadiens. Daniil Tarasov stopped 29 shots.

The two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions entered the night 27th in the overall league standings and out of playoff contention.

The Canadiens sat third in the Atlantic Division and two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres entering Tuesday’s games.

Suzuki tied the game at 3-3 with 20.1 seconds remaining in the third after a stunning solo effort from Lane Hutson to set up the goal.

Hutson then drew a high-sticking penalty from Tomas Nosek with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Canadiens couldn’t capitalize in five minutes of thrilling 3-on-3 overtime.

Danault tied the score at 2-2 at 6:22 in the third period when he corralled a loose puck and beat Tarasov through a crowd for his first goal in 15 games, energizing the Bell Centre.

Luostarinen quickly quieted the crowd, deflecting a Gustav Forsling point shot 1:27 later to put the Panthers ahead 3-2, setting up Hutson and Suzuki’s late-game dramatics.

Takeaways

Canadiens: Forwards Kirby Dach and Texier returned to the lineup, while veteran Brendan Gallagher (healthy scratch) and Joe Veleno (flu) sat out. Defenceman Adam Engstrom drew in for Kaiden Guhle (maintenance).

Panthers: Forward Matthew Tkachuk missed the game for the birth of his first child, adding to a long list of absences for Florida. More than half of the Panthers’ usual roster is out for the season after three straight trips to the Stanley Cup final.

Key moment

With 25 seconds left in the third, Hutson skated into the Panthers’ zone and dragged Tarasov out of his net before sending a pass from behind the goal line to Suzuki, who deposited the puck into the empty cage.

Key stat

Caufield is scoreless in three straight games for the first time since posting four consecutive goalless outings from Jan. 8 to 12.

Up next

Canadiens: Host the Lightning on Thursday.

Panthers: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press