SUNRISE, Fla. — Canadians are going through difficult times, but this is not the time for players to feel sorry for one another.

Aleksander Barkov scored three goals and added two assists in the first half to help the Florida Panthers beat the Montreal club 7-2 on Thursday at the FLA Live Arena.

Barkov was back in action after three games with a lower body injury. The game was only 15:22 when the Panthers captain completed his hat trick.

4-2 after 40 minutes, the Panthers turned the iron in the third period and some Canadian players vented their frustration by tackling opponents.

“We’re a little bit fragile right now, and that leads to hesitation at times,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis. I think every team goes through such a moment during a season. We’re living our streak right now, but it’s not the time to say “poor”.

“No one likes to lose. The positive is our numerical advantage. The negative is that we lost again. But I liked how we stayed together in the third period. I liked our physical side.

Josh Anderson on the power play and Arber Xhekaj at the very end of a Panthers penalty scored for the Canadian (15-18-3) who suffered his fourth consecutive loss (0-3-1). Samuel Montembeault made 34 saves.

Only one of Barkov’s goals came on the power play, but Matthew Tkachuk added two goals for the Panthers at this stage of the game. Tkachuk also racked up two assists during the game.

“We’re dealing with good power plays,” emphasized St-Louis. They use different strategies. We must continue to learn in our concepts of numerical inferiority and avoid a rupture. But against these teams, once you anticipate the bad game, they will find the opening.

Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen also scored for the Panthers (16-16-4), who broke a three-game losing streak. Brandon Montour had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky had 25 stops.

Forward Brendan Gallagher was back in action for the Canadiens after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury. Evgenii Dadonov was also included in training while Michael Pezzetta and Anthony Richard were left out.

Defender Kaiden Guhle retired to the dressing room early after falling under Barkov’s weight late in the third period. Apparently he injured his right leg.

The Canadian will play his next game on Saturday at 4pm when he visits the Washington Capitals.

Barkov’s case

The Panthers quickly launched hostilities. Barkov was credited with his first goal of the game after 2:37 when a shot from Gustav Forsling deflected off his right skate before going into goal.

Barkov came back 8-10 to go for the power play in the first third. He received a cross pass from Sam Reinhart and then beat Montembeault with an accurate shot.

The Canadian responded when a shot from Xhekaj surprised Bobrovsky with 5:46 left, just after a penalty for Radko Gudas.

Barkov, on the other hand, completed his hat-trick 68 seconds later. He recovered a comeback and backhanded Montembeault.

Once again, the second power play session revived the Canadian before the engagement ended. Anderson capitalized on a comeback from a one-timer shot by Mike Hoffman.

The Panthers’ power play matched the Canadians’, while Tkachuk made it 4-2 in the home team’s favor after a 6-22 in the second period. He deflected a shot from Montour behind Montembeault after the Habs were penalized for having too many players on the rink.

The Canadian was limited to two shots on target in the second period and required four minutes of play before scoring for the first time in the final period.

To make matters worse, the Panthers widened the gap to 5:2 a few seconds later at 4:16. Verhaeghe took advantage of a turnover to stage a two-for-one attack and smack Montembeault with a precise shot over the right shoulder.

Tkachuk, back on the power play, then Luostarinen then completed the habs.

Towards the end of the meeting things got even worse. Canada defender Joel Edmundson was sent back to the dressing room after a severe counter check against Gudas. Gallagher threw the gloves away in front of Montour a little later.

Dressing Room Echoes

Arber Xhekaj noted that it doesn’t take much for a player of Aleksander Barkov’s caliber to damage an opponent.

“He’s one of the best players in the league. If you give him space, he’ll make you pay for it, and he did that tonight.”

Jonathan Drouin admitted the Canadiens players were frustrated by their recent mistakes.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating and I’d rather see that (players bicker) than just sit on the bench and let the time pass. We are not satisfied with our game and the results. It’s in our hands.”

Drouin praised Xhekaj’s work on the power play.

“He has a very good shot and that was the plan: to allow him to shoot a reception with two guys near the net.”