Tomas Tater scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, and backup goaltender Antii Niemi stopped 23 shots in lieu of Carey Price as the Montreal Canadiens dealt the Florida Panthers a stinging 5-3 defeat on home ice.
In their first game back from the holiday break, the Panthers got off to an unfortunate start when Brendan Gallagher forced Mike Matheson into coughing up the puck from behind his own net, allowing Tatar to seize the late Christmas gift in front and beat Roberto Luongo on the backhand just 35 seconds after opening puck drop.