The Canadiens came from three one-goal deficits on Saturday night at the Bell Center and were rewarded with a win.
Mike Hoffman scored after 1:03 of overtime and the Montreal squad defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4.
Hoffman scored on a pass from Kirby Dach on a two-on-one attack.
Martin St-Louis’ team had to work hard to force the presentation of a tiebreaker. She did, however, score three times in the third period, including twice less than a minute after a Penguins goal.
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, while Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan also scored for the Canadian (8-6-1), who won a third straight game. Jake Allen stopped 20 shots.
As for the Penguins (6-6-3), Rickard Rakell and Jeff Petry each had a goal and an assist. Brock McGinn and Evgeni Malkin also scored, while Jason Zucker had three assists. Tristan Jarry made 37 saves.
Anderson was back in action for the Canadiens after serving a two-game suspension for a dangerous hit against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Michael Pezzetta gave him his place in the training.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Tuesday, when they host the New Jersey Devils.
The cat and the Mouse
Anderson was quick to show up, opening the scoring after 1:48 of play. His long shot surprised Jarry, who had his eyesight cloudy.
The rest of the first half was not particularly lively. Allen stood out by frustrating Zucker, who had outflanked Arber Xhekaj. For his part, Jarry made the stop in front of Dach, who had cut between the two defenders.
The Penguins scored twice early in the second period. Petry first tied the game at 1:46, when his snap to the slot was unintentionally deflected into his own net by Jake Evans. The Penguins took the lead 1:43 later, when a Marcus Pettersson shot deflected off Rakell before moving the ropes.
If the Penguins dominated the start of the second period, the second part was the affair of the Habs, who fired 18 consecutive shots on goal.
Jarry notably frustrated Brendan Gallagher twice. He also made tough saves against Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin and Caufield when the Canadiens were on the power play.
Caufield tied the game 2-2 with a long point shot 49 seconds into the third period. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan disputed the goal, believing Dach obstructed Jarry. Video managers saw things differently.
Malkin put the Penguins back in front at 3:19 with a good backhand shot. However, Suzuki gave him the answer 50 seconds later, thanks to a good maneuver in front of Jarry.
The referees were busy afterwards, so the teams found themselves three against three. McGinn scored at 2:02 on a 2-on-1 attack with Jeff Carter. However, Monahan replied 40 seconds later, when the Canadian was on the power play.
Hoffman then played heroes in overtime for the Canadiens.