Excerpt from 'Habs Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on how long defenseman Arber Xhekaj might remain in the AHL. GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs Winnipeg Jets 2 | FINAL/OT Montreal Canadiens defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzMDEwNzgzNDMxMzY5OTEw/canadiens-final-score-13.png] Montreal Canadiens defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime. 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 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 - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic Goaltenders Starter: 34 Jake Allen Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau Out of the lineup Scratches: Gustav Lindstrom, Emil Heineman, Sam Montembeault 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 Canadiens came out cautiously in the opening frame, sacrificing their own opportunities to limit their opponent. It was a low event period with the Jets having a 6-5 edge in shots. High-danger scoring chances were 3-1 for Montreal. It was a job well done for the Canadiens restricting the flow of the game and holding one of the best teams in the NHL in the past six weeks to a 0-0 draw in the opening 20 minutes. The complexion of the game changed considerably in the second period with a total of 25 shots registered between the two teams. Montreal went to the dressing room holding a 2-1 lead on goals by Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak. For Dvorak, it was his second goal in two games after ending a 17-game goalless streak against the Islanders. The Jets dominated the third period outshooting the visitors 15-5. Cole Perfetti scored the equalizer at 12:24 to send the game beyond regulation. Justin Barron scored a power play goal 1:09 into overtime to secure the victory for Montreal. The Canadiens gave up a two goal lead but won in extra time. Montreal improves to 7-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes. Against a very good team, the Canadiens won the special teams battle, scoring twice with the man advantage and killing two Jets power plays. WATCHALONG LIVESTREAM (REPLAY) [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q8Jf4BfsEI[/embed] GAME STATISTICS Canadiens (14-13-4) Shots: 26 Face-off %: 53.7 Power play: 2/3 Penalty minutes: 6 Hits: 26 Blocks:23 Jets (18-10-2) Shots: 32 Face-off %: 46.3 Power play: 0/2 Penalty minutes: 8 Hits: 21 Blocks: 13 SCORING SUMMARY Canadiens Scorers 1st period: -- 2nd period: Anderson (4), Dvorak (3)-PPG 3rd period: -- OT: Barron (6)-PPG SO: -- Jets Scorers 1st period: -- 2nd period: Vilardi (5) 3rd period: Perfetti (10) OT: -- SO: -- Goaltenders MTL: Allen (W) 4-6-2 WPG: Hellebuyck (OTL) 15-6-2 CANADIENS PLAYERS OF THE GAME Justin Barron - Barron scored the game-winner in overtime while recording 20:45 in ice time. Josh Anderson - Anderson is on a modest scoring streak with three goals in the last two games. Jake Allen - It was a solid game with 30 saves for Allen who has now won both starts against the Jets this season. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqD6T6v0X8[/embed] POST-GAME QUOTES Justin Barron "I wasn't necessarily expecting to get on the ice there (on the power play in overtime.) It's funny how it works out: (Adam) Lowry goes off so my brother gets on for them and [Mike Matheson] goes off for us and I get on. (It's) definitely pretty special." Martin St. Louis "In general, I thought we didn't execute well in the first half. We had trouble executing a pass or receiving it. But we continued, we moved back into second place a little, and Jake (Allen) gave us an excellent game in front of the net." "We were able to kill the two penalties we received, and we scored twice on the power play. That's a bit like the difference." UP NEXT The Montreal Canadiens continue their three-game road trip. They will play the Wild on Thursday and the Blackhawks on Friday night ahead of the Christmas break. 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.
