Mike Hoffman played the heroes in overtime, allowing the Montreal Canadiens to beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2, Monday at Mullett Arena.
Hoffman deceived the vigilance of Karel Vejmelka in extra period thanks to his excellent wrist shot. It’s the second overtime goal this season for the veteran, who gave the victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins in November.
The Habs were not in control of the duel of the day, however, and as on several occasions this season, Samuel Montembeault kept his teammates in the game. He made 37 parades, against only 23 for his vis-à-vis.
Cole Caufield was the first to hit the target, at the very start of the middle period. Kaiden Guhle deserved more than a secondary assist on the streak, he who maneuvered around the opposing defense just before the small sniper unleashed a violent wrist shot.
Christian Dvorak also threaded the needle in that engagement, minutes after Nick Schmalz tied the game. The American center came to haunt his former team by skillfully deflecting a shot from the point of Arber Xhekaj.
Rookie Matias Maccelli, however, reset the counters to zero less than three minutes later. Jacob Chychrun and Lawson Crouse allowed the Finnish striker to escape by mystifying the Habs with a prepared game.
In his first match in the blue-white-red uniform, Anthony Richard stood out for his speed and tenacity. He spent 10 min 58 s. on the ice, made two shots on target and even had a second-line audition, alongside Kirby Dach and Jonathan Drouin.
A tough first twenty
The Habs struggled to get their way early in the game, so they were unable to thread the needle in the first period for a sixth consecutive game.
Beyond this prolonged out of fuel and the 16 shots on goal he gave the Coyotes, the CH was damaged during this engagement.
Dvorak’s return to Arizona got off to a rough start. The American center was hit near the temple by a one-timer from teammate Nick Suzuki, and immediately retreated to the locker room. He was, however, able to return to the game.
A few minutes later, Slafkovsky was stunned as well. The young Slovak wanted to enter the opposing zone when he encountered an unexpected wall: Shayne Gostisbehere! Although he weighs almost 50 lbs less than Slafkovsky, he gave him a hard check.
The Canadian will continue his journey abroad in Colorado on Wednesday, where he will visit the Avalanche.