After three defeats despite acceptable performances, the Canadian managed to end his holiday trip on a good note, despite a scare at the end of the match.
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, Samuel Montembeault stopped 30 shots and the Montreal club beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday evening at the American Airlines Arena.
The Habs compiled a 3-3-1 record during their longest stretch of road games of the campaign. He had not won in his first three outings since his Christmas break, even if head coach Martin St-Louis believes that his team might have deserved a better outcome.
“I thought we played an exemplary game on the road, as we are capable of doing,” said St-Louis. But it wasn’t the first time we played like that, especially during this trip.
“To finish with a record of 500, when I look at our schedule, where we played, I’m proud of the guys,” he added.
This is the first time since the 2018-19 season (4-2-0) that the Canadian has posted a record of at least 500 during his traditional holiday trip.
However, he came close to disaster on Tuesday, coming close to squandering a 4-1 lead at the end of the third period. The Stars scored twice after replacing their goalie with an extra attacker, but they were ultimately unable to complete the comeback.
“It was quite stressful,” admitted Jordan Harris, also author of a goal and an assist for the Canadian. We obviously would have preferred a better end to the match, but we won and that’s all that matters. »
Kaiden Guhle and Cole Caufield were the other scorers for the Canadian (16-16-5).
Harris became the ninth Canadian defender to score at least one goal this season. All Habs defenders who have played at least one match have therefore hit the target at least once this season.
Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist, while Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson also scored for the Stars (22-10-4), who lost for only the second time in their last seven games (5-2-0 ). Mason Marchment had two assists and Scott Wedgewood made 14 saves.
The Habs employed a formation with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for a second straight game, since Christian Dvorak (upper body) was not available.
Josh Anderson did not finish the game. He appeared to injure his leg early in the third period and headed to the locker room. The team did not immediately offer an update on his condition.
The Canadian will be back at home on Thursday, when they host the Buffalo Sabers at the Bell Centre.
The hard
The Stars took advantage of a stupid turnover from Mike Matheson to open the scoring after just 11 seconds of play. Matheson lost control of the puck behind his net, then Johnston reached Benn, who only had to deflect in an open net.
The Canadian quickly responded at 4:14. Harris applied pressure on the right wing, which allowed Juraj Slafkovsky to recover the puck. Slafkovsky then passed to Suzuki, who scored on a one-timer.
The Habs had the best chances in the first period and managed to take the lead before the end of the period. Guhle scored at 9:46, taking advantage of a long comeback after a shot from Johnathan Kovacevic.
“The first goal didn’t affect us,” Guhle said. We responded quickly, then I scored too. I think we started playing better after that. »
The second period, however, was the affair of the Stars, who had a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal.
However, the Canadian was the only team to find the back of the net during the engagement. Harris beat Wedgewood at 6:54 with a shot from the side of the shield during a three-on-two attack.
The Stars bottled up the Canadian in his territory numerous times during the third, but Montembeault closed the door.
The Habs goalkeeper notably frustrated Craig Smith during a two-on-one attack. Montembeault was also alert when Evgenii Dadonov deflected a delivery from Marchment.
The Stars’ indiscipline at the start of the third period allowed the Canadian to add an insurance goal. Caufield completed a nice passing play started by Slafkovsky, Suzuki and Sean Monahan at 6:45.
Caufield celebrated his 23rd birthday by making the red light shine in a third game in a row.
The Stars replaced Wedgewood with an extra attacker with more than six minutes left in the game. The strategy allowed Johnston to close the gap with 3:48 remaining.
Robertson then brought the Stars within one goal with 2:00 left on the clock.
The Canadian finally managed to survive the latest assaults from the Stars.
“The last five minutes felt like 20 minutes,” St-Louis said. It wasn’t easy to deal with emotionally. It’s a learning experience for everyone, and for me too. »