By TIM REYNOLDS
SUNRISE — Nick Suzuki got a power-play goal 3:24 into overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to stun the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Suzuki also scored late in regulation to tie the game for the Canadiens, who improved to 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal.
Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, but Marchand was called for roughing 1:27 into overtime — giving Montreal a 4-on-3 advantage.
The Panthers paid tribute to Marchand’s 1,000th career point in a pregame ceremony. Marchand got the milestone point in mid-November, but chose this game — against Montreal, one of his longtime rivals when he was with Boston and a team coached by one of his idols, Martin St. Louis — for the formal celebration.
The game was scoreless after two periods, just the 11th such game in the NHL this season and the first for both the Panthers and the Canadiens. And it was the first time a Florida-Montreal matchup saw no goals in the first 40 minutes of action since Feb. 14, 2013 — a contest that ended up as a 1-0 road win for the Canadiens.
But the final 10 minutes were wild.
Marchand opened the scoring at 10:18 and Reinhart connected with 4:59 left to put Florida up 2-0. Back came Montreal, with Caufield scoring 32 seconds after Reinhart’s goal and then Suzuki tying it up with 1:22 remaining.
It was the final game of 2025 for both teams. Montreal’s 21 wins going into New Year’s Day are its most since having 21 wins at this point during the 2018-19 season. And Florida — which has played in each of the last three Stanley Cup Finals, winning the last two titles — played its 106th game of the year, the third straight year in which the Panthers have topped 100 games.
Up next
Panthers: Host the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic at Miami on Friday.
Pregame ceremony
Marchand’s first NHL point came just 26 seconds into the second period of his first game with the Boston Bruins. It seemed very easy, so easy that he was certain he’d be all over the scoresheets on a regular basis.
Oops. Nearly a full year passed before his second NHL point.
“After the first, I’m like, ‘Oh, this, it’s not too hard,’ ” Marchand said. “But I had a pretty rude awakening after that. You just see how hard it is every night to play in this league.”
He has never forgotten the lessons that came after that first point, what it was like to go scoreless in 21 consecutive games, how it felt to get sent down from Boston to the team’s minor league affiliate in nearby Providence. And they were still in mind Tuesday night, when the Panthers — who acquired him in a trade last season — paid tribute to Marchand joining the NHL’s 1,000-point club in a pregame ceremony before playing host to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Panthers let Marchand and his family choose when they wanted to have the ceremony, and this game was the pick. Flowers were presented to Marchand’s wife and mother, gold mini-sticks were presented to his three children. The NHL sent a Tiffany crystal to present to Marchand, and he got a commemorative gold stick and plaque from Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito as well.
Several NHL coaches and players sent video tributes as well, including many of his former Bruins teammates as well as Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby. “Super proud of you,” former Bruins teammate Zdeno Chara said.
Marchand watched the ceremony from a corner of the ice, surrounded by family.
“I have all my family in town,” Marchand said. “These are moments throughout your career that don’t happen often. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate things that I definitely never thought would ever become possible. … It’s a great opportunity for everyone to enjoy a very special thing.”
Getting to 1,000 points is a testament to plenty of things, his longevity included. The 37-year-old Marchand had 100 points in a season exactly once; he’s basically been just about a point-a-game guy for the entirety of his 17-year career.
