MONTREAL -- Fresh off being named the NHL's second star of the week on Monday, Vincent Trocheck picked up where he left off on Tuesday night.

Trocheck scored a goal and an assist to help the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

With his two points, the 22-year-old now has eight points in his past five games.

"He's playing very well lately," said Panthers winger Jaromir Jagr. "He's skating, he's got a lot of confidence, he's shooting the puck with a lot of confidence. He's a very underrated player.

"I'm glad he's underrated, that way people don't attention to him that much. On the team, we know how good he is."

Nick Bjugstad, Jiri Hudler and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers (39-22-9), who moved into the driver's seat in the race for the Atlantic Division lead.

"They're a good team," Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty said. "They're primed up, ready for the playoffs. They made a lot of big deals at the deadline and that's a team that I think is going to open up a lot of eyes in the playoffs."

Alex Galchenyuk scored the lone goal for Montreal (32-32-6).

The Panthers were in control early on, outshooting Montreal 10-2 near the halfway mark of the first period, and their efforts would pay off shortly thereafter.

Trocheck, named the NHL's second star of the week on Monday, kept on his recent hot streak with his 21st of the season to open the scoring. Reilly Smith dished off to Brian Campbell between the blue line and the left circle, and the veteran defenseman wasted little time in feeding Trocheck on the right side at 11:46 of the first period.

Bjugstad showed off his hand-eye coordination at 5:10 of the second period to double the Panthers' lead. With time winding down on an Alex Galchenyuk double-minor for high-sticking, Aaron Ekblad fired a shot from the point. Condon made the save but the rebound bounced to the left, where Bjugstad batted home his second goal in as many games.

Hudler, bumped up a line with Jussi Jokinen sidelined after blocking a shot on Monday against the New York Islanders, made it 3-0 at 12:45. Trocheck carried the puck in along the left side and around the net before taking a shot on Condon on a wraparound. He stopped the shot but couldn't contain the rebound and Hudler, in front, cashed in the rebound.

"The score was 4-1 but I felt like it was a close game throughout," said Panthers goaltender Al Montoya, who made 27 saves in earning his 10th win of the season. "There were momentum swings on both ends. I thought we were really responsible out there. We had guys that stepped in the lineup that had huge contributions tonight. Hats off to them. It really made my job a lot easier."

Galchenyuk brought the dormant Bell Centre crowd to life less than five minutes later. Pacioretty, along the right wall, dropped a pass for his center, who skated to the dot before sniping a wrister through traffic and past Montoya.

Barkov connected for a third straight game to restore Florida's three-goal lead. Jagr, uncovered in the corner, dished off to Jonathan Huberdeau, who got around Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin to feed Barkov at the bottom of the right circle at 11:32 of the third period.

Besieged by injuries, Montreal has been icing a line-up heavy on AHL call-ups of late, with winger Lucas Lessio among the beneficiaries. He played a season-high (since joining the Canadiens) 13:10, recording three shots on goal and numerous chances all night against the Panthers.

"It is an audition," he said. "I think when you're playing your best, you're giving your team the best opportunity to win at the same time. I just want to pitch in any way I can. I'm getting some chances, like I said. It'd be nice to see that turn into production soon but I've just got to keep moving my feet. Tomorrow's another one so put the same effort there."

Mike Condon made 32 saves for the Canadiens.

NOTES: Montreal LW Stefan Matteau returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. ... Canadiens C Lars Eller (flu) and D Nathan Beaulieu (lower body) sat out Tuesday night but were scheduled to travel with the team to Buffalo immediately following the game, while D P.K. Subban (neck) was ruled out for Tuesday's and Wednesday's games. ... Already without C Derek MacKenzie (lower body), Florida added LW Jussi Jokinen (lower body) and D Erik Gudbranson (lower body) to its list of walking wounded. However, RW Teddy Purcell returned after missing four games with a lower-body injury. C Quinton Howden was scratched. ... Called up earlier in the day from AHL Portland, C Greg McKegg drew into the lineup while D Dylan Olsen was a healthy scratch.