Canadiens Beat Mammoth 5-4 in Overtime as Caufield Wins It

Cole Caufield scored in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 win over the Utah Mammoth at the Bell Centre on Thursday night. Montreal trailed 2-0 early and 4-3 late in the third period, and still won. The Canadiens have now taken at least one point in nine straight games.

Utah started fast. Logan Cooley opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game, beating Jakub Dobes on a breakaway on the first shot of the night. Cooley struck again on another breakaway to make it 2-0 before Montreal had settled.

Suzuki leads the reply

Nick Suzuki, back in the lineup, started the comeback with Montreal's first goal. Arber Xhekaj tied the game 2-2 with a hard point shot that beat Sebastian Cossa, a goal NHL Public Relations measured at 97.22 miles per hour, the hardest shot to produce a goal in the league this season. Suzuki finished the night with three points.

Cooley completed his hat trick on the power play late in the second period to put Utah ahead 3-2, and he finished with four points. Kirby Dach tied the game again in the third period with his first goal of the season, scored on the power play. Nick Schmaltz put Utah back in front 4-3 with the Mammoth's third power-play goal of the night.

Adam Engstrom tied the game 4-4 with his first NHL goal, and the Canadiens held on to force overtime and secure at least a point for the ninth straight game. In overtime, Caufield beat Cossa with a fake and a clean finish to end the game.

Montreal plays next on Saturday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Utah continues its road trip on Saturday in Ottawa against the Senators.

Xhekaj's night did not end with his goal. Minutes after scoring, the defenseman fought Utah forward Liam O'Brien, in a bout reported by both Habs Eyes on the Prize and Dose. Engstrom's equaliser also carried a milestone: the young defenseman scored it off a pass from Jake Evans, walking into the slot for the first goal of his NHL career. Montreal outshot Utah 35 to 20 on the night, according to the match stats published from ESPN data, a measure of how much of the late game the Canadiens spent in the Utah end.