3 most impressive players from Montreal Canadiens' 4-0 win over Florida Panthers feat. Jakub Dobes

The Montreal Canadiens returned from the holiday break with a bang on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Florida Panthers 4-0 at Amerant Bank Arena. The win props the Habs up to 15-17-3 on the season, while the Panthers record falls to 22-13-2.

Montreal has had an up-and-down season, so this performance will be very much appreciated by their fans. Montreal has quietly won four of its last five games in hopes of hanging around the playoff picture for as long as possible.

After a scoreless opening frame, the Canadiens opened the floodgates in the second. Kirby Dach finished off a nice passing play from Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle just 1:39 into the second.

Dach then took another Newhook pass to spring him for a breakaway that he buried on the backhand. The Habs capped it off with a shorthanded snipe from Jake Evans to take a 3-0 lead into the third period.

In his NHL debut, goaltender Jakub Dobes stood tall and shut the door on the Panthers. This allowed Montreal to keep their 3-0 lead under control for the majority of the third period. Cole Caufield then provided the dagger with just over five minutes left in the final frame from Juraj Slafkovsky's centering feed.

That is what you call a perfect road win.

Montreal will quickly head to Tampa Bay to battle the Lightning in the second half of their back-to-back set on Sunday at Amalie Arena. The puck drops at 5 p.m. ET.

Let's get into the three most impressive players from the Habs' 4-0 road win over the Panthers.

3 most impressive players from Canadiens' 4-0 win over Panthers

#1. Jakub Dobes

What a way to begin your NHL career! The 23-year-old, fifth-round pick of the Canadiens in 2020 was called up on Friday and made his NHL debut Saturday in Florida.

The Czech netminder shut out the reigning Stanley Cup champions, making 34 saves in an afternoon he and his family will never forget. His perfect performance should give him the opportunity to further seize the backup role behind Samuel Montembeault for the rest of the 2024-25 season.

#2. Kirby Dach

Kirby Dach played a huge part in Montreal's win today. Dach scored back-to-back goals in the second period, including what turned out to be the game-winning goal to break it open for the Canadiens.

It was just his third and fourth goals in what has been a struggle of a season. Dach and the Canadiens are hoping this two-goal game can spark the 23-year-old and lead to a breakout from his slow start.

#3. Kaiden Guhle

The Habs minute-munching defenseman was solid in today's 4-0 win. He recorded one assist, four blocked shots and had a +3 rating in 21:29 of ice time. An impressive performance from the 22-year-old. The Canadiens and their fans expect to see more of this in the games ahead.