Undisciplined CH saved by its strike force

The Montreal Canadiens concluded their first visit to Utah with a 5-3 victory on Tuesday.

Holding the best record in the NHL since December 17 (10-2-1), the Habs have won their seventh game in their last 10 games on enemy ice. They are only two points behind the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, which is occupied by the Blue Jackets, also victorious tonight .

Kirby Dach scored twice, while Samuel Montembeault made 22 saves. Cole Caufield scored his 24th goal of the season, and Patrik Laine his 10th goal in his 15th game, his first at five-on-five, while Mike Matheson had the other. Lane Hutson had three assists and became the sixth-fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach the 30-assist plateau in his rookie season, with 32. He is second in NHL history behind Chris Chelios.

The Canadiens played with fire, taking four penalties in the first period that broke their rhythm, but they managed to come back from behind twice.

The CH committed two infractions in the first 70 seconds of play. Posted in front of goalie Samuel Montembeault, Josh Doan took advantage of a 5-on-3 to open the scoring by taking his own rebound.

Guilty of the second penalty, Mike Matheson redeemed himself by quickly responding after coming off the bench. He broke through the opposing defence before beating Karel Vejmelka between the pads.

The Habs continued to show indiscipline, however, by taking two more consecutive penalties. Kirby Dach had barely had time to get back on the ice before Utah took the lead again. Nick Bjugstad lifted the puck toward the net and it rolled over Montembeault's back and then behind the line. The goalie had done everything he could to keep his team tied despite the disadvantage.

Patrik Laine tied the game with his 10th goal, but his first at even strength. Laine completed a superb exchange with Alexandre Carrier and Alex Newhook, who passed him a cross-country pass.

Kirby Dach gave the Canadiens the lead for the first time with 1:26 left in the period, but Logan Cooley tied it early in the third.

A fine passer, Lane Hutson passed to Cole Caufield who only had to stick out his stick to make it 4-3 at 6:33 of the third period.

The Canadiens were punished again late in the game, as Juraj Slafkovsky was sent to the penalty box for interference on Clayton Keller. Jake Evans nearly added his fourth goal of the season on the penalty kill when he got a chance to take a penalty shot after being hooked by Mikhail Sergachev on a breakaway. Vejmelka stood up to him, however, with patience.

Dach, for his part, did not miss his shot to add a two-goal cushion.

Forward Alex Newhook was in uniform with the flu on Monday, as was Michael Pezzetta, who was supposed to replace Emil Heineman in the lineup. The Swede was involved in a car accident as a pedestrian on Monday and will be sidelined for three to four weeks.

The Salt Lake City-based club, for its part, has been struggling lately. The team led by Quebecer Andre Tourigny has a 2-7-2 record in its last 11 outings. The team thus has an eight-point gap to make up to figure in the playoff picture in the West.

Following this meeting, the Canadian will travel to Texas, where he has a meeting with the Dallas Stars on Thursday evening.