(Montreal) Cole Caufield gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, giving interim head coach Martin St-Louis a first victory in the the NHL.
Posted at 10:08 p.m.
Caufield, twice, and Paul Byron scored for the Canadiens (9-33-7), which ended a 10-game losing streak.
Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas blackened the scoresheet for the Blues (28-14-6), who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end. The Missouri squad also beat the Bleu-blanc-rouge 4-1 on December 11.
Samuel Montembeault got the start in front of the Habs goal, and he made 26 saves. The 25-year-old Quebecer had not triumphed in his five previous starts, since the 5-3 win against the Stars in Dallas on January 18.
His vis-à-vis, Ville Husso, was on his 17thand start this season and had the best save rate in the league (.939), before the meeting against CH. He stopped 27 shots in front of the Blues net.
For a rare time this season, it was the Canadian who opened the scoring.
Byron, who was competing in his 500and career NHL game, opened the scoring at 7:13 of the first period. It was his first goal of the campaign, and his 95and in career.
Thomas, however, brought the two teams back to square one with 1:34 left in the first period, after completing a fine two-on-one run with Buchnevich.
After an uneventful second period, the chess game between the two teams continued for much of the third period.
Buchnevich believed he had given the Blues the win by rattling the ropes with 1:19 to go, but Caufield hit back with 8.7 seconds to force extra time.
Caufield returned to the charge and sealed the game at 2:22 of extra time. It was the American’s fourth goal in four games since St. Louis was behind the Habs bench.
Of note, forward Joel Armia received the blade of a skate from Thomas in the face, resulting in a deep laceration. His condition is unknown at this time.
In addition, striker Christian Dvorak was again missing, and his state of health is reassessed on a daily basis. Dvorak was hit in the head in a game against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 24 and hasn’t played since.
The Canadian will complete his work week by visiting the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon.