Excerpt from 'Habs Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki's lack of offensive production this season. GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs Minnesota Wild 4 | FINAL/OT Montreal Canadiens vs Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzMDg5OTcxMDg1NTgzOTM5/canadiens.png] Montreal Canadiens vs Minnesota Wild CANADIENS LINEUP Forwards 22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky 91 Sean Monahan - 71 Jake Evans - 17 Josh Anderson 11 Brendan Gallagher - 28 Christian Dvorak - 56 Jesse Ylonen 51 Emil Heineman - 13 Mitchell Stephens - 40 Joel Armia Defensemen 8 Mike Matheson - 58 David Savard 21 Kaiden Guhle - 52 Justin Barron 47 Jayden Struble - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic Goaltenders Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault Alternate: 34 Jake Allen Out of the lineup Scratches: Gustav Lindstrom, Cayden Primeau, Michael Pezzetta Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Jordan Harris (lower body), Alex Newhook (lower body), Tanner Pearson (upper body) GAME REPORT The Minnesota Wild had returned home after a road trip with visits to Pittsburgh and Boston. Playing hosts to the Canadiens was their third game in four nights. Montreal had a day off on Tuesday and a practice on Wednesday while waiting for Minnesota to return home. Yet it was the Wild who dominated the first period of this game putting on a clinic of puck possession. The home team got goals from Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi to take a 2-0 lead to the intermission. Shots on goal were 13-3 for Minnesota. The second period was a chaotic, penalty-filled mess. Kaiden Guhle found himself in a fight with Rossi an unlikely combatant after the Habs defenseman delivered a crushing hit on Kirill Kaprizov. Midway through the frame, following the expiry of a Canadiens power play, David Savard got the visitors on the board. Montreal clawed themselves back into the game early in the third period with Nick Suzuki scoring a power play goal. Brock Faber put the Wild ahead again with a shot from a distance on the power play. Juraj Slafkovsky tied the game with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. Kaprizov scored the game-winner in overtime as Cole Caufield lost track of his man on the ice. Emil Heineman made his NHL debut for the Canadiens but was limited to 10 shifts and just 5:56 of ice time. Sam Montembeault was not sharp on this night allowing four goals and making 20 saves. The Canadiens managed just two high danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the game. Montreal has lost 16 of the last 17 games to the Wild. GAME STATISTICS Canadiens (14-13-5) Shots: 25 Face-off %: 50.9 Power play: 1/5 Penalty minutes: 19 Hits: 13 Blocks:14 Wild (14-13-4) Shots: 24 Face-off %: 49.1 Power play: 2/6 Penalty minutes: 25 Hits: 17 Blocks: 11 SCORING SUMMARY Canadiens Scorers 1st period: -- 2nd period: Savard (2) 3rd period: Suzuki (9)-PPG, Slafkovsky (3) OT: -- SO: -- Wild Scorers 1st period: Boldy (9)-PPG, Rossi (11) 2nd period: -- 3rd period: Faber (2)-PPG OT: Kaprizov (11) SO: -- Goaltenders MTL: Montembeault (OTL) 7-4-3 MIN: Gustavsson (W) 9-8-2 CANADIENS PLAYERS OF THE GAME Nick Suzuki - Suzuki recorded a goal and an assist on six shots on goal. The Habs captain had a 69 per cent success rate at the faceoff dot. Juraj Slafkovsky - In 17:41 of ice time, Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist. The 19-year-old will have to set a goal to control his emotions as lessons continue. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvreDTrggEc[/embed] POST-GAME QUOTES David Savard "I think it was a bit of a strange match, with a lot of penalties. It was a close, physical match." Martin St. Louis "Yes, the special teams were called upon a lot and it was hard. I would have liked to roll our lines a little more. Circumstances meant that there wasn't much rhythm." UP NEXT The Montreal Canadiens play one more game ahead of the Christmas break against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. Gretzky Signature Series [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNzAzMjM2NzQxMTEzNjIw/gretzky-northland.jpg] Gretzky Signature Series
