MONTREAL, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Veteran goalie Ed Belfour made 29 saves Tuesday night to lead Florida to a 1-0 win over Montreal and tie Tony Esposito on the career shutout list.
Belfour upped his shutout record to 76, eighth on the NHL's all-time list.
"It was a huge win, and definitely an honor to be beside Tony, one of my heroes," Belfour said.
Jay Bouwmeester notched the lone goal of the contest for the visiting Panthers, who have won two in a row.
Cristobal Huet stopped 24-of-25 shots for the Canadiens, who have lost four straight.
The Habs had a good shot to score late in the third as they skated with a two-man advantage and failed to hit anything except the left post on a Sheldon Souray blast from the point. Huet was pulled for an extra attacker with just over one minute to play, but Belfour blocked a 20-foot turnaround shot by Guillaume Latendresse, then kept out two more chances while sliding on his back in the crease to preserve the victory.
