(Montreal) The Canadian worked hard and his numerical advantage allowed him to get back into the match before winning.
Cole Caufield scored the winning goal with 42.2 seconds left in overtime and the Montreal club defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
The Habs closed a 3-1 deficit thanks to two power play goals.
Caufield then capped the comeback by beating Elvis Merzlikins with a precise shot in the overtime period. The American sniper finished his evening of work with a goal and two assists to his record.
Nick Suzuki also had a goal and two assists, while Mike Matheson had a goal and an assist for the Canadian (4-2-1). Sean Monahan also hit the target and Samuel Montembeault stopped 31 shots.
Emil Bemström scored twice for the Blue Jackets (3-2-2), while Jack Roslovic collected a goal and two assists. Merzlikins made 23 saves.
The Canadian will play his next game on Saturday, when the Winnipeg Jets are the visitors at the Bell Centre.
A rewarded effort
The visitors launched the hostilities after only 2:46 of play. After a nice exchange between Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski entering the zone, Roslovic only had to deflect Gaudreau’s cross pass into the back of the net.
The Blue Jackets offered physical play in the first period, and sometimes even dangerous. Dmitri Voronkov and Cole Sillinger applied illegal checks to Arber Xhekaj and Alex Newhook, leading to two short skirmishes.
Bemström scored his first goal of the evening with 2:39 left in the first period, on the power play. He beat Montembeault on the power play with a powerful one-timer.
Suzuki restarted the Canadian after 27 seconds of play in the second period. He surprised Merzlikins on the shield side with a good wrist shot.
The Canadian had a few opportunities to level the score. Josh Anderson notably escaped, but was not able to complete his maneuver. For his part, Caufield came up against Merzlikins twice during a power play.
Bemstrom restored the Blue Jackets’ two-goal lead with 6:26 remaining, again on the power play. This time, he only had to slide the disc into the opening after a pass from Roslovic.
The Canadian did not give up and reduced the gap to 3-2 before the end of the second period, with 16.1 seconds remaining. Matheson hit the mark on the power play with a long, precise wrist shot.
Monahan then tied the game 7:48 into the third period, again on the power play. Posted in front of the net, the veteran deflected a delivery from Caufield into the goal.
Merzlikins extended the suspense by frustrating Anderson and Caufield on breakaways in a span of just over a minute late in the third period.
Montembeault was smoking early in overtime, when the Canadian was taking a penalty. Caufield then played the hero.