Canadiens 4, Panthers 1: Tomas Plekanec and PA Parenteau each recorded a goal and an assist as visiting Montreal overcame an injury to leading scorer Max Pacioretty to regain sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

Brendan Gallagher and Devante Smith-Pelly also tallied for the Canadiens, who snapped a three-game skid (0-1-2) and moved two points ahead of idle Tampa Bay while inching one behind the New York Rangers and Anaheim in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Defenseman Andrei Markov notched an assist to extend his point streak to five games and Carey Price finished with 24 saves for his league-best 42nd win, tying Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden for the franchise mark in a season.

Rookie blue-liner Aaron Ekblad scored for Florida, which has dropped six of the last seven meetings with Montreal. Dan Ellis turned aside 24 shots in the loss.

Defenseman P.K. Subban chased down a loose puck along the right-wing boards before setting up a hard-charging Gallagher, who one-timed a shot past Ellis to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead 7:06 into the second. Parenteau cleaned up his own rebound to double the advantage under 4 1/2 minutes later before stripping the puck from Florida captain Willie Mitchell and setting up Smith-Pelly with 2:18 remaining in the session.

With his team on a 5-on-3 advantage, Plekanec opened the scoring at 6:36 of the first period after wiring a cross-crease shot from along the goal line that banked off Ellis and into the net for his 200th career goal. Florida forged a tie 6:20 into the second as Ekblad skated in and unleashed a blast from the top of the left circle that sailed past Price.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pacioretty, who leads Montreal with 37 goals, suffered an apparent upper-body injury after his head bounced off the boards following a hit from Florida D Dmitry Kulikov at 5:48 of the first period. Pacioretty did not return to the contest and Kulikov was whistled for interference on the play. ... Markov has scored one goal and set up four others on his point streak. ... Prior to the game, a moment of silence was observed for Hall of Famer Elmer Lach, who died on Saturday. Lach, who led Montreal to three Stanley Cups and won the Hart Trophy in 1945, was 97.