(New York) The Canadian made a full effort and was rewarded Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
Cole Caufield broke the tie in the third period in addition to picking up an assist, Samuel Montembeault stopped 38 shots and the Montreal team defeated the New York Rangers 2-1.
The Habs had seen their efforts undermined by a poor start to the game in a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders less than 24 hours earlier.
This time, he dodged the slump and came out on top in a goalie duel.
Kirby Dach also hit home for the Canadian (18-23-3), which ended a seven-game losing streak on the road (0-6-1).
Artemi Panarin was the only scorer for Rangers (24-13-7), who suffered their first setback in regulation time in eight games (5-1-2). Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves.
Forward Jake Evans was missing for the Canadiens after suffering a lower-body injury on Saturday against the Islanders. Defender Chris Wideman was also dropped, while forwards Mike Hoffman and Michael Pezzetta were reinstated.
The Habs therefore relied on a traditional formation of 12 attackers and six defenders.
However, striker Juraj Slafkovsky did not finish the game, heading for the locker room with around eight minutes to go.
The Canadiens will be off on Monday. He will take over the collar on Tuesday, when the Winnipeg Jets are at the Bell Centre.
An entertaining show
Both goalkeepers were at the top of their game in the first half.
Shesterkin multiplied the spectacular saves. He notably frustrated Caufield and Christian Dvorak after they managed to outflank opposing defenders.
For his part, Slafkovsky came up against the Russian goalkeeper twice. The second time, Shesterkin made the save with the handle of his stick.
At the other end of the rink, Montembeault was alert in front of Jake Leschyshyn and Mika Zibanejad. He also played luck when Alexis Lafrenière missed an open net.
The Canadian finally opened the scoring after 4:54 of play in the second period, during a power play. Jacob Trouba missed an opportunity at one end of the ice, then the Habs counter-attacked at three against two. Dach beat Shesterkin with a high mitt side shot.
Dach knocked on the door as soon as the game resumed, but Shesterkin was watching the grain.
Rangers responded before the end of the second period, with 3:57 to go. During a delayed penalty against the Habs, Panarin surprised Montembeault after a long streak with a counter-current shot.
Jonathan Drouin tried to restore the lead to the Canadiens before the end of the second period. Shesterkin, however, stopped two shots from the Quebec forward in quick succession.
It was finally Caufield who gave the Habs a 2-1 lead after 8:56 of play in the third period. He took advantage of a Nick Suzuki throw-in to beat Shesterkin with a one-timer.
Montembeault then withstood numerous attacks from the Rangers.