Depleted Panthers rocked 6-2 by Texier, Canadiens
Jan 8, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Alexandre Texier (85) scores a goal against Florida Panthers Sergei Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Alexandre Texier produced the first hat trick of his career to lead the Montreal Canadiens to an easy 6-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at Bell Centre.
Texier, who came into the tilt with just four goals on the season, notched Montreal’s third, fourth and final goals of the game; Noah Dobson opened the scoring with an absolute bomb from the point 2:59 into the first; Oliver Kapanen made it 2-0 later in the frame and added two assists; and Juraj Slafkovský was awarded an empty-net goal before Texier completed his hatty.
The Canadiens took advantage of some fortuitous bounces to beat up on Sergei Bobrovsky, who gave up five goals on just 19 shots.
Florida was never really in this one, although they did close to within a goal 5:33 into the second when former Panther Sam Montembeault must’ve forgot which team he was playing for and gifted Sam Bennett an empty net to shoot at with a ghastly turnover.
Texier would get his first of the night 8:08 later to put the Habs back up by two, tipping Alexandre Carrier’s shot from just above the left circle past Bobrovsky.
Bennett picked up his second of the night at the 8:37 mark of the third when he rapped the puck home after Montembeault couldn’t absorb Evan Rodrigues’ initial shot. Niko Mikkola drew the second assist for triggering a nice rush up ice by eRod.
That makes seven-straight losses to the Canadiens and the Panthers have been outscored in the first two games of the road trip, 10-3. With the most recent injuries to Seth Jones and Brad Marchand the roster has been stretched to the breaking point. Up next is a Saturday night meeting against the troubled Ottawa Senators.
The Five Hole
- After having his career-long nine-game point streak snapped in Toronto, Sam Bennett got right back on the score sheet. It was his second multi-goal game of the season.
- Evan Rodrigues’ assist on Bennett’s second maker ended a five-game pointless streak and made him the seventh Panther to hit the 20-point mark.
- Niko Mikkola’s secondary helper on that goal was his first assist since December 10, in a 4-3 win over the Utah Mammoth.
- Mackie Samsokevich and Anton Lundell each finished with a team-high five shots on goal. Samsokevich is mired in a 11-game goalless drought. Lundell has gone five games with without a goal.
- Sam Renhart logged a team 24:16 TOI and was credited with two shots, a hit and two blocks.
Stat Card
