Fans of Hollywood blockbuster movies — if there are any out there — will generally agree the sequel never is as good as the original.
Or in the case of Wicked and Wicked: For Good, both were terrible. But don’t get us started.
Canadiens fans have seen this movie before. But this time, the sequel outdid the original. And in the immortal words of the late Yogi Berra, it was déjà vu all over again.
On Sunday night, the Canadiens overcame a 3-0 third-period deficit at Tampa Bay and forced overtime before losing, 5-4, to the Lightning in a shootout.
Therefore, it should hardly come as a surprise Montreal overcame a 2-0 third-period deficit against Florida Tuesday night. But this time the visitors rebounded for a 3-2 overtime victory at Amerant Bank Arena thanks to captain Nick Suzuki’s winning goal — his second of the game — on the power play at 3:24 of the extra session.
Suzuki also scored the tying goal with 1:22 remaining in regulation time. And he may well complete the hat trick Wednesday by being named to the Canadian team for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch: The other story on this night was Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault. The beleaguered veteran was starting his first game since Dec. 2 and hasn’t played for Montreal since Dec. 9. He was recently recalled following a two-game — both losses — conditioning stint at AHL Laval. In what might have been the most important game of his career, Montembeault stopped 28 shots for a .933 save percentage. He shut out Florida for more than 50 minutes, while winning for the first time since Nov. 28, against Vegas. So now, who gets the start Thursday night, at Carolina? Stay tuned.
Strange, but true (Part I): Florida, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, has lost six consecutive games to Montreal. Go figure.
News you need (Part I): The Canadiens are 11-3-0 when Cole Caufield scores. He produced Montreal’s first goal, his team-leading 19th this season.
News you need (Part II): The Canadiens’ remarkable road record improved to 11-3-5. Montreal has recorded points in 16 of 19 road games.
News you need (Part III): Fourteen of Montreal’s 39 games have been decided in overtime or by a shootout. We believe Gary Bettman would call that parity.
Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand, left, waves as he stands with family members as he is recognized for having reached 1,000 NHL points before an NHL hockey game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla.
Sour-sweet: Love him or hate him we’d take Brad Marchand, a young 37, on our team. He was honoured by the Panthers pregame for producing his 1,000th point last month. He also opened the scoring with a power-play goal — his team-leading 23rd — midway through the third period. But he took a foolish roughing penalty against Mike Matheson in overtime, eventually leading to the winning goal. Marchand has points in nine consecutive games against the Canadiens.
Stat of the night: Noah Dobson and Alexandre Texier — the latter elevated to the Canadiens’ first line with Suzuki and Caufield — combined for five of Montreal’s seven first-period shots.
Like watching paint dry: Florida didn’t get its first shot of the second period until 12:46.
How did he miss?: With the Canadiens on the power play in the same period. Caufield had an open net. Goalie Daniil Tarasov was down and out, on his belly no less. Somehow Caufield hit the post.
Sieve of the night: Tarasov was beaten on the 24th, 27th and 29th shots he faced. His save percentage was .897. Two words come to mind: You stink.
Milestone: This was the 200th game of Arber Xhekaj’s career. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t drafted and went directly to the NHL from junior hockey. Despite playing only 9:39, he had four hits.
Strange, but true (Part II): When Lane Hutson was penalized for cross-checking in the second period, it was only his third minor this season.
Best somersault of the night: Late in the second period, Eetu Luostarinen went head over heels in the corner against Adam Engstrom.
Great moments in scheduling: Beginning Jan. 6 at Toronto, nine of the Panthers’ next 10 games will be on the road. That includes a trip to Montreal on Jan. 8. We’re guessing Marchand will be brayed upon each time he touches the puck.
Cheap call: Engstrom’s interference penalty on A.J. Greer in the third period
Dumb penalty: Juraj Slafkovsky had no reason to trip Mackie Samoskevich in the third period. Marchand scored while he was off.
Momentum … schomentum: Only 32 seconds after Sam Reinhart made it 2-0, Caufield scored.
Faceoff of the night: Anton Lundell beat Phillip Danault, leading to Reinhart’s goal.
Pass of the night (Part I): Ivan Demidov, from behind the net, to Suzuki on the tying goal.
Pass of the night (Part II): Hutson to Suzuki on the winning goal.
Third time’s the charm: In overtime, while on the power play, Suzuki hit the side of the net, then struck the crossbar before finally scoring.
Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki celebrates his goal to force overtime with teammates during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena on Dec. 30, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida.
Quick stats: Suzuki had a team-leading seven shots. Caufield had five shots. Texier and Dobson both had four shots. Dobson also blocked five shots. Samuel Blais, despite playing only 8:09, had four hits. Matheson played 27:14. The Canadiens won 57.4 per cent of their faceoffs but were outhit, 30-16.
They said it: “It (comebacks) has kind of been something we’ve done over the last few years,” Suzuki told the media in Sunrise, Fla. “We don’t want to put ourselves in that position all the time, but we have the pieces to do it.”
“Pretty exciting. Pretty eventful. That’s why you play to the end,” Caufield said in southern Florida. “I thought we played a pretty solid game. I thought we came out with energy and did a lot of right things. I think the resolution for the new year should be get the lead. It’s good going forward throughout the season to look back on those moments and remember that you’re always in it.
“Just play the game in front of you,” Caufield added about his goal. “When you go down two like that you’ve got to find a way to create offence. It was a big goal for our group. Got us back in right away. Maybe we don’t get the two points without that? Whether it takes 60 minutes or 65, you’ve got to find a way.”
“I thought he (Suzuki) was excellent tonight,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I thought that line played really well. They played a mature game.”
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