The Canadian erased a two-goal deficit in a second straight game and this time, he capped his comeback by winning.
Juraj Slafkovsky broke the tie late in the second period in addition to collecting an assist and the Montreal team defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday night at the United Center.
On Thursday, the Habs overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before losing 4-3 in overtime against the Minnesota Wild.
Against an opponent ranked 31st in the overall NHL rankings, the Canadian had to play catch-up hockey again. However, his efforts were not in vain.
Nick Suzuki and David Savard also each collected a goal and an assist, while Mitchell Stephens and Josh Anderson also scored for the Canadian (15-13-5), who collected at least one point in a fifth game of continuation (3-0-2). Cayden Primeau stopped 19 shots.
Ryan Donato and Jason Dickinson gave the lead to the Blackhawks (10-21-1), who have won only one of their last six games (1-5-0). Petr Mrazek made 23 saves.
The Canadian completed the first portion of his holiday trip with a 2-0-1 record.
He will take charge again on December 28, when he visits the Carolina Hurricanes.
Victorious comeback
The visitors had the advantage at the start of the match. The Canadian players controlled the game, but they came up against Mrazek.
Primeau stole a sure goal from MacKenzie Entwistle late in the first period, then Jayden Struble came to the rescue of his goalie on the return shot by Anthony Beauvillier.
The sequence seemed to whip the Blackhawks, who opened the scoring about a minute later, with 3:04 remaining in the first period. Connor Bedard attracted three rivals, which left Donato alone in the slot to beat Primeau.
The Blackhawks doubled their lead 3:43 into the second period. Colin Blackwell rushed into the Canadian zone and defender Justin Barron fell in his retreat. Blackwell then made a back pass to Dickinson, who was able to shoot into a gaping cage.
The Canadian quickly responded at 4:20. Stephens deflected a long Mike Matheson shot past Mrazek.
It was Stephens’ fourth career NHL goal, and his first since March 3, 2020.
Anderson tied the game 2-2 with 4:58 left in the second period. He took advantage of a nice crossfield pass from Sean Monahan to score a fourth goal in as many games.
The Blackhawks threatened in turn, but Dickinson hit the post in a two-on-one attack.
Slafkovsky finally gave the Canadian the lead for the first time in the game, scoring with 2:27 left in the middle period. A shot from Suzuki hit the skate of defender Isaak Phillips and Slafkovsky only had to push the loose puck into the opening.
Primeau stood out again before the end of the period, making a good save on a deflection from Tyler Johnson during another overkill attack by the Blackhawks.
Suzuki gave the Canadian a two-goal cushion by scoring his 10th goal of the season with 6:49 left in the third period. He took advantage of a comeback after a good throw from Cole Caufield.
Jake Evans came back 10 seconds later, beating Mrazek to the glove side. Head coach Luke Richardson, however, contested the goal, believing that there was an offside on the sequence. NHL officials quickly overturned the goal.
However, this had no impact on the final result.
Savard completed the scoring by shooting into an empty net with 1:56 left on the clock.