Cole Caufield scored his first hat trick and the Canadiens dominated their final game of the season 10-2 against the Florida Panthers on Friday night at the Bell Center.
By the end of the first period, CH was already leading 4-1.
The Panthers, winners of the President’s Trophy as the best team in the NHL during the season, have given permission to several team stars.
Forwards Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Claude Giroux were noticeably left behind. Also, forward Anton Lundell and defenseman Gustav Forsling did not rush to the rink even though they were in uniform.
Poor Jonas Johansson, third in the hierarchy of Panther goalkeepers, was sent to the slaughterhouse. He made 27 saves.
That’s why the Canadiens players offered a light balm to fans, in addition to firing for the last game of the career of equipment manager Pierre Gervais, who spent 35 years with the organization.
Jordan Harris opened the scoring just 1 minute 57 seconds into the game. Mike Hoffman scored Montreal’s second goal in 4:18. Just 12 seconds later, Caufield made it 3-0.
Brendan Gallagher, Mathieu Perreault, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak and Tyler Pitlick also found the back of the net.
Ben Chiarot and Noel Acciari scored the same goal for the Panthers.
Carey Price returned to goal two days after seeing the doctor in New York who operated on her knee this summer. He stopped 37 shots and recorded his first win in five starts since returning to action on April 15.
The Canadian, who finishes the campaign in 32nd and last place in the NHL overall classification, will resume its season-ending report on Saturday morning. General Manager Kent Hughes was among the speakers.
Interim head coach Martin St-Louis did not want to confirm on Friday night that his interim status would be removed during the season-end review, but he told RDS after the game. that he hopes to return to the back of the bank next year.
The Jacques-Beauchamp-Molson trophy awarded to Romanov
Defenseman Alexander Romanov won the Jacques-Beauchamp-Molson Trophy as the `fourth star ‘with the Montreal Canadiens this season.
The Jacques-Beauchamp-Molson trophy is awarded to the player who has a decisive role within the team during the regular season, without getting any particular honor from it.
Romanov, who replaced Jake Allen, recorded a total of 46 points on a ballot held to journalists assigned to cover the team. He defeated goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault (33 points) and forward Jake Evans (28 points).
In his second NHL campaign, he thrived throughout the season, inheriting more important responsibilities.
In 79 games, he scored 3 goals and 10 assists. Before the last game of the campaign, Friday against the Florida Panthers, his average playing time was 20:22.
Romanov, 22, has been a quiet defensive force. He led the team in hits (225) and blocked shots (142).
The Canadiens will announce the winner of the Molson Cup on Saturday.
Source: Radio-Canada
