MONTREAL — Tough to play against.

It’s something coach Michel Therrien wants the Canadiens to be and something they certainly weren’t last season.

But the Canadiens reached that benchmark in their 4-1 victory Tuesday night over the Florida Panthers, according to Therrien’s assessment of their performance.

Therrien also liked how his players reacted when defenceman Josh Gorges was hit from behind into the boards by Panthers forward Tomas Fleischmann.

“Ryan (White) was the first guy, but you look at the reaction from everyone, they were all on the same page,” Therrien said.

“That’s a great sign.”

White leaped to Gorges’s defence and went after Fleischmann. For his actions, White received a hefty 27 minutes in penalties.

Therrien said he spoke to White on Wednesday about being careful not to put the team in a tight spot.

It’s a fine line, Therrien said, because you want to send a message but, at the same time, you don’t want to put your team in trouble.

“That’s kind of the chat I had with him this morning,” Therrien said.

“I appreciate he did the right thing,” the coach added. “But in the meantime ... you’ve got to be careful that (you’re) not putting this team in trouble. So he’s got to find that line because in a 2-1 game it could have been different.”

But Therrien added he could tell players on the bench wanted to kill the penalty for White because he supported Gorges.

“I think we only allowed like one shot killing those penalties and there was a time we were down by two men so it was a great team effort,” Therrien said.

White said after practice Wednesday that he was trying to stick up for his teammate.

“We’re trying to change the culture around here and make it a tougher place to play,” he said.

Next time, White said he’d probably do things a little differently, “maybe not go after him right away.”

The penalty minutes dished out to White weren’t his highest tally ever.

“I think I had 29 minutes one time in junior,” White told The Gazette’s Pat Hickey.

“It was the first time my grandmother saw me play in junior. She told me not to do that again.”

Forward Brendan Gallagher, who was playing his first NHL game, served seven minutes in the box in place of White, who received a game misconduct, reducing the rookie’s potential ice time.

“I guess I’m going to have to buy him dinner,” White said.

The Canadiens' home record at the Bell Centre last season (16-15-10) was the second-worst in the Eastern Conference after the New York Islanders (17-18-6).

Gorges said the Canadiens want to let teams know it won’t be easy when they come to the Bell Centre.

While it can often be intimidating, “a lot of times road teams get energized when they come into this building. It’s such a fantastic place to play,” Gorges said.

“So we need to have that edge, we need to have bite. Play with that sandpaper and make teams sit back on their toes maybe a little bit if we can. So it was great to see guys do that last night.”

Forward Brandon Prust is one of the players being counted on to bring grit to the team.

His biggest quality, according to Therrien, is that he’s a gamer.

“He competes so hard,” the coach said. “He’s a good teammate off the ice and on the ice.”

Prust played with Alex Galchenyuk, 18, and Gallagher, 20, against the Panthers. Galchenyuk scored his first goal in the NHL and Gallagher collected his first point with an assist on the play.

They talked each time they got back to the bench, making sure they were on same page, Prust said. “We had a lot of communication, which I think helped us be successful.”

“I think our main goal was just to make sure we were playing really well defensively, and create our offence off that.”

Prust said he was impressed by the two rookies’ smarts and sense of the game.

“They’ve got great speed and great energy,” he said.

Galchenyuk’s parents returned home to Sarnia, Ont, after the game.

“For me it was kind of important to get the first goal while they were sitting in the stands,” Galchenyuk said. “So it was really exciting for me.”

“It’s kind of like saying thanks to them because I wouldn’t be here without them and to show them the support is great.”

Gallagher said his parents had a few people over in Vancouver to watch the game, and family friends were calling to congratulate him.

“They’re both really proud of me,” Gallagher said of his parents. “And I’m very thankful of all the sacrifices they’ve made for me, for me to get here. And I just want to continue to show them how much I appreciate that.”

The Canadiens assigned forward Mike Blunden to their farm club, the Hamilton Bulldogs, on Wednesday.

Forward Lars Eller was a healthy scratch in the match against the Panthers, and Therrien said he plans to go with the same lineup on Thursday against the Capitals in Washington.

“There’s no one from (Tuesday’s) lineup that deserves to be taken out,” Therrien said.

bbranswell@montrealgazette.com

Twitter: @bbranswell

The Gazette’s Pat Hickey contributed to this report