The Canadian started his stay in California on the right foot.
Kaiden Guhle and Jesse Ylönen scored back-to-back in the third period as the Montreal squad defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Tuesday at SAP Center.
Guhle was playing his first game since Dec. 29, when he suffered a knee injury against the Florida Panthers. He had missed the last 23 games for the Habs.
Jake Allen shut the door on the Sharks. He made 38 saves in front of the Canadiens net (26-30-4). Christian Dvorak added an insurance goal into an empty net late in the game.
Jacob MacDonald had given the Sharks the lead (18-31-12) in the first period. Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 29 shots.
Acquired from the Dallas Stars on Sunday in return for Evgenii Dadonov, forward Denis Gurianov made a good first impression with the Canadian. Playing alongside Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman, Gurianov had several scoring chances and took six shots on net.
On the Sharks side, forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson played their first game with their new team. They were involved in the recent trade that sent Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils.
The Canadian will play again Thursday and Friday, when he will visit the Los Angeles Kings and then the Anaheim Ducks.
By dint of trying
The Sharks scored on their first shot on goal of the game, 1:43 into the game. MacDonald beat Allen moments after a turnover from Justin Barron behind the Habs net.
The Canadian knocked on the door on two power plays in the first period, but he came up against Kahkonen.
At the other end of the rink, Nick Bonino hit the crossbar on a Sharks power play.
Both teams had scoring opportunities on a four-on-four run in the second period. Gurianov escaped, but Kahkonen made the save with his mitt. For his part, Allen stood up to Noah Gregor.
Allen kept the Canadiens in the game with other good saves, including one on a point-blank shot from Johnsson.
Moments after a Sharks shot bounced off the post, the Canadian tied the game at 8:07 of the final third. Guhle took advantage of a loose puck in the top slot to unleash a cannonball that left Kahkonen no chance.
Ylönen then gave the Habs the lead 1:52 later. Rem Pitlick did all the work on the breakaway before sliding the puck to his right to the Finn, who was coming in support. Ylönen was able to shoot into a gaping cage.
Dvorak completed the mark with 4.1 seconds left on the clock.