About Last Night: Habs in striking distance of Eastern Conference lead

Alexandre Texier’s magical week continues with a hat trick in a 6-2 win for the Canadiens (25-13-6) against the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre on Thursday.

The Habs won back-to-back games to begin their home stand by a combined score of 10-3. Coming off an impressive road trip, the team is 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and ended the night only a point back of the Carolina Hurricanes for tops in the Eastern Conference.

What could’ve been the story of the night ended up not being a factor as Brad Marchand missed the game because of an injury. It’s possible he would’ve had to answer the bell for his elbow on Mike Matheson the last time both clubs faced off.

Samuel Montembeault further solidified his grip as the go-to goalie with his third straight victory since his conditioning stint. He made 25 saves, but also coughed up a pass on the first Panther goal.

Noah Dobson was quiet on offence against the Flames, but he opened scoring in the first with a blast from the point for his eighth goal as a Hab.

Oliver Kapanen had a three-point performance, including an assist on the Dobson goal and a marker of his own with 2:25 left in the first period — 2-0 Habs after 20 minutes.

Montembeault had been perfect through the game’s first 25 minutes, and faced a 10-shot barrage in the second, yet the lone blemish until the third period was passing the puck right to Sam Bennett to cut Montreal’s lead to 2-1.

Then it was Texier time. The French forward has shown quick hands around the net, and he was in the right spot for a redirection on Sergei Bobrovsky to extend Montreal’s lead to 3-1. Habs got outshot 10-4 in the second yet escaped with a two-goal lead.

Texier was just getting started. In the third period, Texier tried to feed Cole Caufield on a 2-on-1, but the puck ended up back on his stick and he flipped it past an overly committed Bobrovsky to make it 4-1 Habs.

The only downside to Montreal’s offence on the night? They went 0-4 on the power play, including shooting blanks on a double-minor on Anton Lundell for high-sticking Texier. After spending two minutes in the sin bin, Bennett left the box and parked himself in front of Montembeault. Even with Matheson’s stick in the way, Bennett got enough of it to pull Florida to within two — 4-2 Habs with plenty of time on the clock.

But the Canadiens held firm. After Juraj Slafkovsky scored an empty-netter to give himself a two-point night, in the final minute Texier got a chance for his first career hat trick. And he did not disappoint the Bell Centre crowd by batting home the airborne puck that came off Sammy Blais’ helmet.

Like last season when the holiday road trip reversed the team’s fading fortunes, the Canadiens have come out of the break red hot. Last time, the winning streak allowed them to back door into the postseason. Now, the Habs can find themselves atop the jammed Eastern Conference standings with a win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

The Liveblog commenters who joined the know some players are set to return from injury. But the top two scoring lines are humming along right now, so tinker at your own peril. Texier has found a temporary home next to Caufield and Nick Suzuki, while Slafkovsky, Kapanen and Ivan Demidov have terrorized opposing goalies for more than a month.

It’s a testament to the Canadiens’ offence they could be outplayed by the depleted-yet-still-fierce defending champions and still emerge victorious.

Here’s what the Liveblog commenters had to say:

3. “I love the way this team plays as a group. No individuals here.” — Bob Taylor 2. “Hope Texier isn’t another Rafael Harvey-Pinard but he sure is having fun.” — Marc Taillefer 1. “We better watch France in the Olympics.” — Steve Frosst