The Montreal Canadiens resisted a late comeback from the New York Islanders, winning 5-3 on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
Leading 4-0 after 40 minutes of play, Martin St. Louis’ men certainly thought that victory was already achieved. However, Brock Nelson, first shorthanded and then at five-on-five, reduced the gap to 4-2 by scoring two goals in 1:36.
Bo Horvat then brought his team’s deficit to one goal with more than five minutes remaining in the match.
Nevertheless, CH managed to stop the bleeding to obtain the two points of victory thanks to Christian Dvorak’s empty-net goal, which thereby broke a streak of 17 games without scoring a single goal.
The second period, however, was largely to the advantage of the local favorites. Josh Anderson finally came out of his torpor, beating Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov twice rather than once. Cole Caufield also ended a seven-game drought without turning the red light.
Indeed, placed very close to the visitors’ goal, number 22 took advantage of Nick Suzuki’s delivery to shake up the ropes. Joel Armia opened the scoring on assists from Brendan Gallagher and Kaiden Guhle.
Justin Barron and Sean Monahan each had two assists in the game. Perfect after two periods, Samuel Montembeault, who was starting his fourth start in six games, made 30 saves on 33 shots.
The Canadian will return to the Bell Center on January 4, 2024 against the Buffalo Sabres. The Montreal club will therefore end the year 2023 with seven consecutive away matches. This long journey will begin Monday against the Jets in Winnipeg.
SUMMARY
THIRD PERIOD
20:00 – End of period.
19:40 – BUT MTL 5-3 Christian Dvorak confirms Montreal’s victory by scoring into an empty net. This is his second of the season. Nick Suzuki gets an assist.
14:06 – GOAL NYI 4-3 The Islanders continue to increase the pressure. Bo Horvat recovers a throw return to score his 12th of the season. Montreal’s lead is now only one goal.
03:43 – GOAL NYI 4-2 Brock Nelson returns to the attack less than two minutes later. His second of the match allows New York to get within two goals of Montreal.
02:07 – GOAL NYI 4-1 Brock Nelson hits the target shorthanded. His 14th of the season allows New York to get on the scoreboard.
00:37 – Anders Lee receives a penalty. The Canadians will play on the power play.
00:00- Start of the period.
SECOND PERIOD
20:00- End of period.
19:22 – BUT MTL 4-0 The Canadians returned to the attack 16 seconds later. Cole Caufield scored the goal. This is his eighth of the season. Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky get assists.
19:06 – BUT MTL 3-0 Josh Anderson rushes to the net and scores his second of the match. Montreal now leads by three goals. Justin Barron and Sean Monahan are accomplices.
13:47 – Brock Nelson receives a penalty. The Canadians will play on the power play.
10:35 – BUT MTL 2-0 Josh Anderson takes advantage of the traffic in front of the net to shoot a shot that beats Semyon Varlamov. It’s his second goal of the season. Justin Barron and Sean Monahan are accomplices.
07:45 – BUT MTL 1-0 Joel Armia opens the scoring with a lively shot. His fourth of the season gives Montreal the lead. Brendan Gallagher and Kaiden Guhle get assists.
03:05 – Johnathan Kovacevic receives a penalty. The Islanders will play on the power play.
00:00 – Start of the period.
FIRST PERIOD
20:00 – End of period.
00:00 – Start of the game.
In front of the net
Semyon Varlamov Record: 6-3-1 / Goals against average: 2.60 / Efficiency rate: 92.1%
Samuel Montembeault Record: 6-4-2 / Goals allowed average: 2.78 / Efficiency rate: 91.1%
Training of coach Martin St-Louis