NHL: Montreal 5, Florida 2

SUNRISE, Fla., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Maxim Lapierre turned in the first hat trick of his NHL career Monday to boost the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-2 victory over Florida.

Alex Kovalev and Tomas Plekanec also scored for the Canadiens, who are 4

Michael Frolik and David Booth each had a goal for the Panthers, who have lost three games in a row and five of seven.

Craig Anderson -- who entered Monday ranked first in the NHL with a .941 save percentage and fourth with a 2.09 goals-against average -- allowed four goals on 20 shots before he left early in the third period. Tomas Vokoun made eight saves the rest of the way.