The Canadiens took on the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre. The Wild had won the previous nine meetings between the two teams.
For the Montreal club, Kirby Dach returned to the lineup and was placed on the first line. It was also the return to the lineup of Jayden Struble, who had taken Arber Xhekaj's place. Alexandre Texier was left out of the lineup, as he was being evaluated day by day.
Here's the Habs line-up with Jakub Dobes in net:
Tonight's lineup
Tonight's lineup#GoHabsGo | @mtlgazette pic.twitter.com/kAwug5ftdN
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 20, 2026
Here's the Wild lineup:
Wild lineup vs Canadiens:
Kaprizov-Hartman-Zuccarello
Trenin-Yurov-Tarasenko
Foligno-Haight-Hinostroza
Jones-Sturm-PitlickHughes-Faber
Middleton-Spurgeon
Hunt-SpacekJesper Wallstedt starts:
12-4-4
.916 SV%
2.64 GAA
4 SO#mnwild #GoHabsGo– xz* – Joseph (@HockeyJoseph10) January 20, 2026
From the opening moments of the game, the Canadiens had multiple chances to score, but it was the Wild who opened the scoring.
Vladimir Tarasenko unleashed a powerful shot on a Matt Zuccarello pass. All on the powerplay.
putting the puck where it belongs pic.twitter.com/YZjQx1YnJP
– Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 21, 2026
Five minutes later, Phillip Danault made amends for his mistake on the Wild goal.
The Québécois pounced on the rebound from Kaiden Guhle's shot and brought both teams back to square one.
DANAULT SCORES FOR US, CHAPTER II
PHIL THE THRILL#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/uMxdk7doGh
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 21, 2026
Alexandre Carrier has developed a taste for scoring goals. He deflected a shot from Mike Matheson's blue line and the puck found its way behind the Wild goalie.
Carrier's Bobblehead night came to life.
The Habs took a 2-1 lead.
WHAT A WAY TO CELEBRATE BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT!
CARSY ON HIS BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/MFLrp2kKv0
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 21, 2026
The Habs outshot the Wild in the first period, 15 to 2.
Midway through the second period, Brock Faber tied the game and left the Bell Centre in silence.
He unleashed a shot from the blue line that Jakub Dobes would surely love to see again.
threading the needle
pic.twitter.com/qtwCGsU1Jl
– Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 21, 2026
Two minutes later, Ivan Demidov remained patient and passed to Lane Hutson. The latter unleashed a cannonball that found its way into the back of the net.
Yes, Lane Hutson!
Demi and Lane's signature trick
Demi-Lane connection just simply hits different#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/nE6LTMpZoz
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 21, 2026
At the end of the period, Marcus Foligno tripped all alone on the line and… the Canadiens took a penalty.
MSL and Hutson can't believe it. Foligno trips on his own, and the Habs get penalized.
Ghost call 101. This has been happening a lot with the Habs this year.
Hutson wasn't within 3 feet of him. Terrible call. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/gKFAsJeIr4
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 21, 2026
Midway through the third period, Kaiden Guhle blocked an initial shot, but Vladimir Tarasenko pounced on the rebound to bring both teams back to square one.
AND WE ARE TIED pic.twitter.com/oNmMcnMr6A
– Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 21, 2026
With 15 seconds left in the game, Cole Caufield unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner that beat the Wild goalie.
COLE CAUFIELD GETS IT DONE WITH 15 SECONDS LEFT ON THE CLOCK
pic.twitter.com/HKIPqKZtqY
– NHL (@NHL) January 21, 2026
Final score: 4-3 in favor of the Canadiens.
The Canadiens take on the Buffalo Sabres this Thursday at the Bell Centre.
overtime
– Kirby Dach played a decent game. Not surprising, given that he hadn't played since November 15. Dach didn't have much of a chance to score, but he got in front of the opposing net and disrupted it.
– Phillip Danault scored his first goal of the season. A goal that made him feel better. But more importantly, his first goal in a Canadiens uniform since May 3, 2021.
The face of a relieved guy. First goal in 275 days.
Phillip Danault. pic.twitter.com/2P9YYnVw6C
– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) January 21, 2026
– Jakub Dobes won another game without being very good. Indeed, the goalie allowed 2 goals on just 19 shots. Even though he's used to not being the best technically, his moves were very questionable.
– It's also worth mentioning that the Wild arrived in Montreal at 2:00 a.m. on the day of the game. It showed in the shots on goal, but they were able to stay in the game until the end.
