It took less than a minute for the two newest Florida Panthers to score their first points in their new uniform.
The Panthers’ third trade-deadline pickup only needed about 26 more minutes to score his.
Claude Giroux, Brandon Hagg and Ben Chiarot all picked up at least one assist Thursday to help Florida beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, in their first game with their new team.
Giroux and Hagg assisted star center Aleksander Barkov’s game-tying goal with 19:24 left in the first period — it was a wild opening minute — and Chiarot delivered the primary assist on winger Anthony Duclair’s go-ahead goal with 12:54 left in the second. Giroux also added a second assist on a crucial third-period goal.
The new-look Panthers (42-14-6) looked a whole lot like the team that has surged into first place in the Eastern Conference, only a bit more well-rounded.
Florida outshot the Canadiens, 42-31, and only trailed for seven seconds in Montreal.
Giroux, who was the Most Valuable Player of the 2022 NHL All-Star Game with the Philadelphia Flyers last month, immediately joined the top line in his first game with Florida, slotting in at right wing next to Barkov and fellow forward Carter Verhaeghe, and he needed less than a minute to make a contribution. After Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki scored 31 seconds into the game, Barkov won the ensuing faceoff back to Hagg, who fired a long pass forward, which Giroux deflected back to Barkov in open ice to score seven seconds later.
Giroux added another assist on a power-play goal in the third period, and now has 902 points in his career and 44 this season.
Hagg only had eight points in 48 games for the Buffalo Sabres this year and Chiarot only had 18 in 54 games for the Canadiens, and both got on the score sheet within their first 27 minutes for Florida.
Giroux was supposed to come right in and contribute to scoring — it’s why the Panthers gave up a first-round pick to pull him away from the team he captained for more than nine years. Hagg and Chiarot — even though Chiarot cost a first-round pick, too — were supposed to change the defensive attitude in Florida, but it’s almost impossible not to find ways to contribute on the other end of the ice when playing with this league-best offense.
