Montour registered an assist and four blocked shots versus the Lightning in Game 4 on Saturday, but it wasn't enough, as the Panthers suffered a 6-3 loss.
After being held without a point in the first two games of the conference quarterfinals, Montour stacked a goal and two helpers between Game 3 and Game 4. The eighth-year defenseman has always had a high ceiling in terms of offensive potential, but there had been a fair number of detractors until Montour's eye-popping 73-point campaign surfaced in 2022-23. He had offseason shoulder surgery and missed the first 16 games of the recently completed regular season, leveling back down to a half-point-per game average. In this playoff series, Montour is averaging 23:26 of ice time with 2:27 on the man advantage. The Panthers will have another crack at eliminating the Lightning in Game 5 on Monday, this time on home ice.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Two-point effort in Game 3
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Montour produced a goal and an assist Thursday in a 5-3 win over the Lightning in Game 3 of the Panthers' first-round series.
Both points came in the second period as Florida took a 3-2 lead it wouldn't relinquish, and they were Montour's first of the postseason. The 30-year-old blueliner ended the regular season in a slump, managing only two points (both goals) over the last 11 contests, but Thursday's performance might be a sign he's heating up.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Scores in win
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Montour scored a goal on three shots in Tuesday's 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs.
Montour capped the scoring in Florida's four-goal second period, beating Joseph Woll with a slap shot from the point to extend the Panthers' lead to 4-2. It's the first point since April 1 for Montour -- he came into Tuesday's finale with just one point in his last 10 games. Overall, the 30-year-old blueliner will wrap up the regular season with eight goals and 33 points across 66 games, a significant step back from his 73-point campaign in 2022-23.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Collects three helpers
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Montour picked up three assists in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on Sunday.
Montour has cooled down a bit after producing four goals and 13 points during a seven-game stretch from Feb. 17-March 2. He has six assists over his past 10 outings, but he's been held off the scoresheet seven times during that span. Montour is up to six goals, 31 points, 143 shots on net, 57 blocked shots and 86 hits through 55 appearances this campaign.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Hot streak continues
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Montour scored the game-winning goal and added two power-play assists in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Red Wings.
The 29-year-old blueliner is suddenly one of the hottest players in the NHL. Montour has five multi-point performances in the last seven games, and over that stretch he's erupted for four goals and 13 points, with about half of that production (one goal and six helpers) coming on the power play. Offseason shoulder surgery delayed his start to the season and it took him a while to get back up to speed, but Montour has regained the form that saw him rack up a career-high 16 goals and 73 points in 2022-23.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Two points against Sens
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Montour produced a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Senators.
His tally late in the second period gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead, and Montour then helped set up Anton Lundell for the OT winner. Montour has two goals and five points in the last two games, and he might be finding last season's form again after offseason shoulder surgery delayed his season debut until mid-November and led to a couple sluggish months -- through his first 25 games in 2023-24, the 29-year-old defenseman managed only one goal and seven points.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Explodes for three-point game
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Montour had an even-strength goal and two power-play assists in a 9-2 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Montour scored the Panthers' first goal when his point shot deflected off Bolts' defender Emil Martinsen Lilleberg during the first period. Montour hasn't been able to replicate his outstanding 2022-23 season, but he does have four points in his last three games. He has also picked up nine of his 15 points on the man advantage. If he can build off Saturday's performance, Montour could be in store for a strong finish to the campaign.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Dishes two helpers
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Montour provided two assists, including one on the power play, in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Golden Knights.
Montour assisted on second-period tallies by Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. This outing snapped a four-game point drought for Montour, who had just five points over 13 appearances in December. The 29-year-old blueliner hasn't been anywhere near his 73-point pace from last season after missing the start of the campaign while recovering from shoulder surgery. He's up to eight points (four on the power play) with 51 shots on net, 20 hits, 17 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating through 22 appearances.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Off injured reserve
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Per the NHL media site, Montour (shoulder) was taken off injured reserve Friday and is expected to make his season debut versus Anaheim.
Montour had an outstanding 2022-23 campaign with 16 goals, 57 assists, 242 shots on goal, 107 PIM, 93 blocked shots and 92 hits in 80 contests. Montour had six goals and nine points in eight playoff games last year before suffering his shoulder injury, but he was able to gut it out, picking up two goals and four points in his final 13 games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He underwent offseason surgery but is finally healthy enough to return Friday.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Chance to play during road trip
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Montour (shoulder) might be ready to return during Florida's three-game road trip, according to Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site.
Coach Paul Maurice mentioned Tuesday that Friday's contest versus Anaheim is a potential target for the returns of Montour and Aaron Ekblad (shoulder). Montour amassed 16 goals, 73 points, 107 PIM, 242 shots on net, 93 blocked shots and 92 hits in 80 games last season. He hasn't played during the 2023-24 campaign because of offseason shoulder surgery.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Practicing Monday
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Montour (shoulder) will be a full participant in practice Monday, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Montour's currently on injured reserve but could return as early as Tuesday in San Jose. The 29-year-old has yet to make his season debut after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Once healthy, he'll slide back into a top-four role with a spot on the top power-play unit.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Back at practice ahead of road trip
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Montour (shoulder) will join the full Panthers team at practice Sunday and is expected to accompany the team on next week's road trip, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
He'll wear a non-contact jersey Sunday as he takes a big step forward in his recovery. Montour and Aaron Ekblad were initially expected to return to the lineup in mid-December following their offseason shoulder surgeries, but coach Paul Maurice indicated Saturday that both blueliners were ahead of schedule and could be back before the end of November.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Recovering from shoulder surgery
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It is unclear if Montour will be ready for the start of the 2023-24 season following offseason shoulder surgery, David Dwork of The Hockey News reports.
With Aaron Ekblad also on the mend from shoulder surgery, the Panthers signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Mike Reilly and Dmitry Kulikov on Saturday for some much-needed defensive depth. Montour racked up 16 goals, 73 points, 107 PIM and 242 shots on goal in 80 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Collects helper
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Montour notched an assist and went minus-3 in Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 5.
Montour picked up two goals and two assists over the last three games of the postseason, but his rediscovery of his offense didn't save the Panthers' season. The defenseman had 13 points, a plus-2 rating, 72 shots on net and 39 PIM in 21 outings, but a 10-game point drought in the middle showed some rare inconsistency. He's still on a bargain deal for next season at a $3.5 million cap hit -- a solid price to pay for a top-four defenseman who can run a power play.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Two points in loss
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Montour scored a goal on two shots, added an assist and logged 12 PIM in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 4.
Montour saw a pinball shot go in for the Panthers' first goal, and he set up Aleksander Barkov in the third period, but the comeback fell short. The defenseman has three points over his last two games since he snapped a 10-game drought. The top-four blueliner has eight goals, four assists, 39 PIM, 72 shots on net, 28 hits, 28 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 20 postseason contests.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Ends drought with goal
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Montour scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Golden Knights in Game 3.
Montour opened the scoring at 4:08 of the first period, snapping a 10-game point drought in the process. The slump stood in stark contrast to his regular season as well as his strong start to the playoffs. He's still at seven goals, 10 points, 70 shots on net, 27 hits, 27 blocked shots, 27 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 19 playoff outings. While he was able to finish Thursday's contest, Montour briefly left the game with an injury in the third period, though it doesn't seem he's at risk of missing Saturday's Game 4 at this time.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Lights lamp twice in Game 7 win
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Montour scored two goals, one on the power play, in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins in Game 7 of the Panthers' first-round series.
The blueliner opened the scoring midway through the first period on the man advantage, but it was Montour's second tally of the night that proved to be crucial, as he snuck home a deflected puck with exactly one minute left in the third period to tie the game at 3-3 and keep his team alive. Carter Verhaeghe then played hero in OT. Montour has carried his breakout regular season forward into the playoffs, racking up five goals and eight points in seven games against Boston, and he'll try to keep rolling when Florida faces Toronto on Tuesday to begin the second round.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Scores twice against Bruins
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Montour contributed two goals in Florida's 6-3 win over Boston in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Montour didn't have a single multi-goal game during the regular season, but he certainly was a big factor in Florida making the playoffs. Over 80 appearances, Montour set career highs with 16 goals and 73 points. He's also been doing great lately, providing five goals and 14 points over his last 10 outings. During Wednesday's contest, both of the 29-year-old's goals came in the third period, with his first putting the Panthers up 3-2 and his second increasing their lead to 5-2.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Four-point eruption against Sens
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Montour scored an even-strength goal and added three power-play assists in Thursday's 7-2 win over Ottawa.
The blueliner extended his point streak to five games while reaching the 70-point plateau on the season for the first time in his career. Montour's strong play down the stretch has been key to the Panthers' playoff push, and since the beginning of March he has five goals and 23 points in 17 games, including 14 helpers with the man advantage.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Notches two assists
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Montour posted two assists and four shots in the Panthers' 2-1 victory over the Sabres on Tuesday.
Montour picked up assists on both Panther goals Tuesday with one of them coming on the power play. This game extends his point streak to four games with six points in that span. The Canadian defender continues his breakout campaign with 14 goals and 65 points in 75 games.
