The Montreal Canadiens have been playing nearly four games per season against the Florida Panthers since they joined the league in 1993-94. The Panthers are one of the rare teams to have a winning record against the Canadiens, which makes sense considering they joined the league the season after Montreal's last Stanley Cup. Montreal holds a record of 50-54-6-4 against Florida.
The Panthers joined the league in 1993-94 and set a record for most points by an expansion team in it's first season. The Vegas Golden Knights eventually broke that record in 2017-18. The Panthers succeeded in their first season, but that didn't last, as they made the playoffs just five times between 1996 and 2020. However, their recent stretch has made up for that, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 and winning their first championship in 2024. The Panthers were the first team in Florida since the Tropical Hockey League folded in 1939.
It's no surprise since the Panthers didn't make the playoffs much in their first few seasons, but the Canadiens have never met them in the postseason. They have been division rivals for most of the Panthers' tenure, but the teams haven't been good concurrently. There is a belief that the Panthers are going to be contenders for at least a few more seasons, so it'd be no surprise if Montreal and Florida meet at some point once the Canadiens finally break through their ceiling.
The Panthers won the first three games of the season in 2023-24, but Montreal won the final meeting 5-3, which broke a seven-game losing streak for the Canadiens. Anton Lundell and Aleksander Barkov scored two goals in the first period to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. However, Nick Suzuki scored a pair in the second, then Cole Caufield and Jake Evans added the insurance to take a 5-2 lead and eventually win 5-3. Sam Montembeault stopped 37 of 40 shots for the victory.