After scoring four consecutive goals, the Montreal Canadiens survived a late surge by the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center.
GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 4 vs Dallas Stars 3 | FINAL
Canadiens Lineup
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
17 Josh Anderson - 91 Sean Monahan - 56 Jesse Ylonen
71 Jake Evans - 11 Brendan Gallagher
55 Michael Pezzetta - 13 Mitchell Stephens - 40 Joel Armia
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 58 David Savard
21 Kaiden Guhle - 52 Justin Barron
47 Jayden Struble - 54 Jordan Harris
26 Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Gustav Lindstrom, Cayden Primeau
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Alex Newhook (lower body), Tanner Pearson (upper body), Christian Dvorak (upper body)
Game Report
It was a tough task. The Montreal Canadiens were facing the fifth best team in the Western conference. And when Mike Matheson committed an egregious turnover resulting in a goal in his net seconds after the opening puck drop, the challenge was made that much more difficult.
Montreal generated little in the way of offense. They were outshot almost two to one overall in the game. The Canadiens generated just two high-danger scoring chances in the first period and none for the remaining 40 minutes of the game.
Fortunately for the visitors, they faced some atrocious netminding by Scott Wedgewood. And at the other end, everyone in a white sweater did more than their fair share of goaltending. The official scorer's tally was a rather conservative 25 blocked shots for the Canadiens.
As a result, Montreal was able to score four straight times, including two more goals by defensemen.
The Canadiens looked to be holding a comfortable 4-1 lead late in the third period. But the Stars gave the Habs (and their fans) a scare scoring twice in the final four minutes of the game with an extra attacker on the ice. Dallas dominated the faceoff dot in the last six minutes of the third period to maintain their zone time.
Game Statistics
Canadiens (16-16-5)
Shots: 18
Face-off %: 48.1
Power play: 1/3
Penalty minutes: 2
Hits: 20
Blocks:24
Stars (22-10-4)
Shots: 34
Face-off %: 51.9
Power play: 0/1
Penalty minutes: 6
Hits: 15
Blocks: 9
Scoring Summary
Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Suzuki (12), Guhle (3)
2nd period: Harris (1)
3rd period: Caufield (10)
OT: --
SO: --
Stars Scorers
1st period: Benn (7)
2nd period: --
3rd period: Johnson (10), Pavelski (15)
OT: --
SO: --
Goaltenders
MTL: Montembeault (W) 8-5-3
DAL: Wedgewood (L) 11-3-2
Canadiens Players of the Game
Jordan Harris - Harris scored his first goal of the season and assisted on another in 14:11 of icetime.
Nick Suzuki - It was a two-point game for Suzuki, who scored just four minutes after the opening goal by Jamie Benn to get the Habs back on track.
Video Highlights
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HJ23MogeuI[/embed]
Post-game Quotes
Juraj Slafkovsky
"Today I think we got rewarded even though the end was pretty hectic, but that's hockey, and at the end of the day, it matters that we got two points, it doesn't matter the score or anything."
Nick Suzuki
"It's not too many times you're 6-on-5 for six minutes. I think we can do a better job but we got the win and that's the most important. Defensively, we were really good tonight against a really good offensive team.
Up Next
Josh Anderson limped to the dressing room in the third period and did not return. There was no update on his condition after the game. He will be re-evaluated when the team returns home.
The Canadiens will head back to Montreal for two home games to end the week. The Habs will host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.
