About Last Night: Nick Suzuki shows why he should make Team Canada with late heroics

Nick Suzuki scored the game-tying goal and overtime winner for the Montreal Canadiens (21-12-6) in a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers (21-15-3) on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena.

In his first start since Dec. 2 after returning from a conditioning assignment, Samuel Montembeault made 28 saves for his first victory in over a month. He had a .933 save percentage, and more importantly, looked comfortable in the crease.

The usual suspects landed on the scoresheet for the Habs: Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson each had two points.

So did Brad Marchand for the Panthers. Not only did he score the opening goal at 10:18 of the third period, he also cost his club the game by taking a roughing penalty in overtime with an elbow on Mike Matheson. Suzuki scored on the subsequent power play.

A little mental reset did some good for Montembeault, who was a perfect 17-for-17 after two periods. Daniil Tarasov was also unbeatable at the other end.

Marchand broke the ice in the third period on the power play, followed by teammate Sam Reinhart just under five minutes later off a faceoff.

The Habs trailed 2-0 with less than five minutes to play in regulation. Caufield got the ball rolling with his 19th goal of the season. It’s his second goal in three games after going goalless in six. 2-1 Panthers with 4:27 in the third.

With 1:22 remaining, Tarasov flubbed handling the puck behind his own net, and the Canadiens captain made him pay with a one-timer blast. Tied 2-2.

In overtime, Marchand, who passed the 1,000-point plateau earlier this season and is a shoo-in for Team Canada when they announce their roster at noon, caught Matheson with an elbow in overtime. The play sent the Habs to a 4-on-3 power play.

With the penalty about to expire, Suzuki completed the tic-tac-toe play with Hutson and Dobson to complete the 3-2 overtime comeback.

For all the talk of Suzuki not playing like his usual self of late, he looked very much in his wheelhouse with the game on the line against the defending Stanley Cup champions. If Team Canada brass needed any more convincing that Suzuki is deserving of a spot, the Canadiens captain rose to the occasion.

Perhaps it didn’t hurt that soon-to-be-named-Olympian Alexandre Texier rode shotgun with Suzuki and Caufield on the top line. The trio topped Hockey Stat Cards’ endgame report card. Meanwhile, Dobson is on a tear: he’s got nine points in his last six games.

Also, kudos to Arber Xhekaj for playing in his 200th NHL game.

This might’ve been Suzuki’s night to shine, but the team was also excited to see Montembeault return with a solid performance in goal. Not the easiest team to shake off the rust against, but the netminder came through in the clutch. He was a third-stringer for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off and won’t get a sniff this time around, but a return to form for Monty in 2026 will be a major positive for the Habs.

Note to readers: after taking a mini-break for the holidays, the Liveblog on the Hockey Inside Out YouTube channel will return later this week.