SUNRISE, Fla. — Shawn Matthias scored twice in the third period to lift the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Tomas Plekanec scored for the Canadiens.
Tomas Vokoun, who was making his 13th consecutive start for Florida, made 16 saves, while Jaroslav Halak stopped 27 shots for Montreal.
Vokoun entered Wednesday's game having stopped a total of 66 shots in his last two home games, both shutouts. Halak, meanwhile, made 32 saves against the New York Rangers on Saturday to earn his third shutout of the season.
The Panthers took a 2-1 lead at 12:59 in the third period on Matthias' second goal. Halak blocked the initial shot, but Matthias pushed in the rebound. Michal Repik, who was called up from Rochester (AHL) on Tuesday, had an assist on the goal.
Matthias tied it at 1 at 3:01 in the third on a penalty shot, beating Halak with a wrist shot that went high into the net. It was the first time the Panthers had scored on a penalty shot since Jan. 29, 2009, when Radek Dvorak scored at home against the Canadiens. The Panthers won that game 5-1.
Plekanec tipped in the puck on a power play to spoil Vokoun's bid for a third straight home shutout and put Montreal up 1-0 with at 18:47 in the second period.
Until Plekanec's goal, Vokoun hadn't allowed a goal at the BankAlantic Center since the first period on Jan. 16, when the Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2.
Notes
Canadiens D Paul Mara (upper-body injury) was a scratch. … The start time for Florida's home game against the New York Islanders on Sunday was moved up to 4 p.m. because of the Pro Bowl in Miami on Sunday night.