Hockey
Canadiens 5-4 Mammoth: Caufield wins it in overtime as Suzuki returns in style
On Thursday night at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens erased three deficits to beat the Utah Mammoth 5-4 in overtime. Cole Caufield ended it just 30 seconds into the extra period, on a two-on-one rush, for his team-leading 11th goal of the season. A win that goes some way to erasing Tuesday's historic collapse against Winnipeg.
Suzuki, a captain's return
Out for six games with a hand injury suffered blocking a shot, Nick Suzuki wasted no time reminding the Bell Centre what it had been missing. The captain opened the scoring for Montreal at 15:25 of the first period, then added two assists — including one on the winner — for a three-point night and first-star honours. Beside him, Juraj Slafkovsky picked up two assists and finished plus-2.
Cooley, the nightmare on the other side
Across the ice, Logan Cooley delivered a monster performance: a hat trick, his second in a week and the fifth of his career, plus an assist. The young Utah centre opened the scoring just 1:42 in, doubled the lead on the power play at 9:24, then completed his hat trick at 11:05 of the second period, again with the man advantage. He also set up Nick Schmaltz's goal at 7:14 of the third. Cooley now has 13 goals in his last eight games, and Utah's power play, three-for-five on Thursday, is running at 38.3 percent this season.
Down three times, never beaten
Montreal trailed 2-0 after ten minutes and never led until overtime, but the Canadiens answered every time. Arber Xhekaj cut the deficit at 17:10 of the first period, his first goal of the season. Kirby Dach tied it 3-3 at 1:09 of the third on the power play, also his first of the campaign. Then Adam Engstrom, in his 25th NHL game, scored his first career goal at 14:54 of the third, on a setup from Jake Evans, to make it 4-4. Jakub Dobes made 16 saves in the win, as Montreal outshot Utah 35-20.
The response Montreal was waiting for
Two days after blowing a 4-0 lead to the Winnipeg Jets — the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history — the Canadiens showed real character. Montreal now sits at 10-3-3, with six wins in its last seven games. Next up: Saturday at 7 p.m. in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, another chapter of the great rivalry. Utah, meanwhile, visits the Ottawa Senators the same night.