The Canadiens end their road trip with a win

Jonathan Di Gregorio
The Canadiens end their road trip with a win
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

Today, the Canadiens completed a trip away from home with a stop in Dallas to take on the Stars.

It was the Habs' second road game in less than 24 hours.

Here are the line-ups for both teams.

The Habs started the game strongly and were the first to open the scoring.

It looked like Phillip Danault had scored his first of the season, but the puck also deflected off Brendan Gallagher, who was credited with the goal. Danault and Alex Carrier had assists on the play.

Then the Stars equalized when Mavrik Bourque beat Samuel Montembeault with a wrap-around on a play the goalie would no doubt have liked to see again. Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz assisted on Bourque's net.

1-1 after 20 minutes of play.

Although the Canadiens earned two powerplays early in the second, the team failed to capitalize on their opportunities.

Instead, it was the home side who took advantage of a man-on-ice penalty to take the lead when Wyatt Johnston scored with help from Mikko Rantanen and Thomas Harley. The goal was scored five-on-five immediately after the penalty expired.

However, the Kid Line made sure to give the Habs a run for their money when Ivan Demidov spotted Oliver Kapanen completely alone, who took advantage to score his 13th goal of the season. Juraj Slafkovsky also picked up an assist on this play initiated by a fine rebound from Arber Xhekaj.

Then, Esa Lindell took a penalty for a vicious stick hit on Samuel Blais, but the visitors couldn't capitalize despite some good chances.

However, the Habs' efforts finally paid off when Slafkovsky scored on a powerplay late in the period, again for a stick hit. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson assisted on Slaf's goal.

3-2 for the Canadiens after two periods.

Unfortunately, in the third period, Jamie Benn had to leave the game when he fell and hit his head hard on the ice.

Although Montembeault made several fine saves to fend off the Stars' repeated assaults in the third as the Habs struggled to keep up, the home side's efforts finally paid off when Wyatt Johnston tied the score with help from Miro Heiskanen and Matt Duchene.

Although both teams got a power play late in the period, neither managed to take the lead.

The game went into overtime.

After trading a few scoring chances, it was Lane Huston who finally gave the Habs the win after Danault won the face-off.

Habs win 4-3 in overtime

Slafkovsky and Hutson had another strong game with two points each, and were once again the Habs' two best players.

In addition to coming very close to scoring his first goal, Phillip Danault also had a good game with two assists and dominated the face-off circle with a 64.3% efficiency (9 in 14), continuing to show his usefulness to the team.

The Habs complete their seven-game road swing with a very good 4-1-2 record

The Habs' next game is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., when they return to the comfort of the Bell Centre to host the Calgary Flames.


Extensions

Once again, the Habs had a productive road trip, collecting 10 points out of a possible 14, putting them in a strong position in the playoff race.

However, it will be important for the Habs to start repeating this kind of performance at home, as the team is struggling at home.

Especially as the team plays its next four games at home.

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