The Montreal Canadiens defeated the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 6-2, with Alexandre Texier recording a hat trick for his second consecutive three-point performance.
ALEXANDRE TEXIER GETS THE HAT-TRICK IN MONTREAL pic.twitter.com/ZxCzx8iU5z
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 9, 2026
Texier tallied one goal and two assists in Wednesday’s 4-1 victory over Calgary.
Noah Dobson, Oliver Kapanen and Juraj Slafkovsky also found the net as Montreal captured its third straight win overall. The Canadiens have now won seven consecutive games against Florida.
Samuel Montembeault stopped 24 shots in his first start at home since Dec. 2.
The goaltender has won all three starts since returning from his conditioning assignment with the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League on Dec. 27. A conditioning assignment allows teams to send players to their minor league affiliate to regain game fitness.
Sam Bennett scored twice for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky made 14 saves.
Florida has dropped the first two games of a six-game road trip.
The Panthers played without leading scorer Brad Marchand, who’s listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Marchand left Tuesday’s 4-1 loss at Toronto and didn’t make the trip to Montreal.
What’s Next
The Panthers visit Ottawa on Saturday night.
Montreal hosts Detroit on Saturday night.
