First period
- Montreal seems more ready for the start of the game today.
- Cole Caufield gets a breakaway, but Thomas Harley makes a stick lift very close to Caufield’s hands at the last second. It could have been called a penalty shot had the ref wanted to, but it was borderline.
- It’s a decent start, but it still isn’t coming with many shots.
- The third line is able to get set up in the offensive zone, and then swing the puck back to the point to get a little breathing room. Alexandre Carrier moves into the space and fires a shot at the net that goes off Jamie Benn standing a few feet in front of him, then a leaping Phillip Danault a bit further along the path, then finally off Brendan Gallagher’s leg to bounce into the net. Gallagher gets the goal he came so close to scoring in yesterday’s game, and Carrier continues his great recent play with the secondary assist on the pinball shot.
It looks like Phil Danault has his first goal of the year as he gets a deflection on the Carrier shot 1-0 Habs!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 4, 2026 at 3:20 PM
[image or embed]
- Juraj Slafkovský intercepts the puck along the wall in his own zone and spins it to the middle. It’s picked up by Oliver Kapanen who leads a three-on-one, executing a give-and-go with Lane Hutson, but opts for a high shot that goes wide, and the Stars survive the danger.
- Instead of being 2-0, the game is now tied at one as Samuel Montembeault didn’t handle a wraparound chance well at all. He didn’t get set at all as the puck was sent into his crease, and it ended up going off his foot and into the net.
- Ivan Demidov tries to make a stick check and ends up getting it caught in front of Matt Duchene. The ref calls him for holding, and that seems highly unnecessary.
- Montreal does well on the PK, actually standing up at the blue line to deny a few entries, and marking everyone well when the puck enters the zone.
- Out of the box, Demidov gets a takeaway at the offensive blue line and is wrapped up along to boards to prevent him from making a play. “Is that holding?” he screams at the ref who decided that was less of a penalty than his play minutes earlier.
- Montreal didn’t get that call, but does get one on the next shift when Hutson is tripped in the neutral zone. The Habs will have 93 seconds of power-play time to begin the second period.
Second period
- They were unable to capitalize on the power play, but immediately draw another one as Ilya Lyubushkin hooks Noah Dobson.
- The second unit gets 90 seconds of the latest power play, but can’t solve Oettinger. That’s two opportunities to get a lead that the Habs have missed.
- The best shift of the game goes to the most productive line over the past several weeks. It starts with Slafkovský winning the puck along the boards and sees several scoring chances generated before the Stars finally deflect a Carrier shot out of play.
- Zachary Bolduc comes out on the ice before Cole Caufield goes off, and Martin St-Louis sends him to the box to serve the too many men penalty.
- If the Canadiens carry one thing forward from this game, I hope it’s the aggressive plays they’re making at the blue line on the penalty kill. They’ve been very effective today.
- They killed off 119 seconds of the penalty, but Montembeault didn’t follow a pass to Wyatt Johnston in the slot, and flailed at the puck as it hit the centre of the net to make it 2-1.
- Slafkovský forces the puck through the neutral zone to allow Demidov to get the zone entry and spin to wall to wait for his teammates to get into position. Kapanen goes to the far side of the ice unnoticed by the Stars, and one-times Demidov’s pass in to tie the game.
Insane feed from Ivan Demidov to Oliver Kapanen and we are tied in Dallas
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 4, 2026 at 4:23 PM
[image or embed]
- Mikko Rantanen catches Sammy Blais with an elbow that goes unseen by the officials. Rantanen has suddenly become the NHL’s dirtiest player.
- Esa Lindell slashes Blais in the hand, and that sends Montreal’s power play back on the ice. Time to make one count.
- The Stars were positioned well on the kill, but Montreal’s top unit was still able to set up a couple of shots. Still slightly too selective; they can score on rebounds, too.
- Dallas gets a two-on-one by slashing Hutson’s stick out of his hands. The refs are all over it.
- Montreal needs to cash in on this power play.
- And they do. The third shot in the opening 30 seconds comes off the stick of Slafkovský in the slot, and finds the top corner to give the Habs a 3-2 lead late in the period.
The Canadiens power play finally clicks and makes it a 3-2 game!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 4, 2026 at 4:36 PM
[image or embed]
- Mike Matheson’s stick breaks just playing a pass that comes toward him. He needs to tear up the contract with his current supplier and try something new.
- Slafkovský just misses Kapanen on a setup in the final 10 seconds of the period.
- One last-second effort from Jason Robertson is stopped by Montembeault, and Montreal will begin the third period with a one-goal lead.
Third period
- This was always going to be the real test for Montreal after playing yesterday. Their defensive positioning will need to be sound as their legs get heavier in the final 20 minutes.
- So far it’s been an ideal defence of the lead, spending every shift in Dallas’ zone. The most efficient option.
- Dallas finally gets a shot almost five minutes into the period. That’s how good the Habs have been.
- The Stars end up with two dangerous ones on that shift, but Montembeault turns both aside.
- Jamie Benn goes down on the ice and holds his head. It looks like he couldn’t get his hands out to catch himself and banged his head off the ice. He’s walking very slowly on his way back to the locker room, and that might be a serious injury.
- A fourth-line shift in the offensive zone is a bonus at this stage. Good work from all of Owen Beck, Blais, and Joe Veleno to take a chunk of time off the clock.
- Rare giveaways from Slafkovský and then Hutson allow the Stars to get about four chances. Montembeault scrambled around a bit, but managed to turn everything aside.
- Montembeault makes one save, but doesn’t readjust to the rebound, and Matheson can’t prevent Johnston from getting a shot. The game is tied as the Stars begin to take over, which was to be expected given their two days of rest beforehand.
- It’s now going to be a seven-minute battle to get out of regulation with a point.
- Danault is flatfooted as the only man back to defend against Rantanen, and has to hook the Stars forward as he flies past. Dobson had raced to the bench despite the Stars about to launch their attack. Dallas will get a power play with just over five minutes to go.
- This might be a one-point penalty kill coming up.
- The Habs kill off the opening minute by pinning the puck in the corner before Kapanen claims it and ices it.
- Johnston ends the power play early by hooking Dobson, and the Canadiens will be thankful for that.
- Four-on-four might be just as dangerous for the tired Habs, but they manage to get through it.
- Montreal is now on a power play that will really just be a minute of time-wasting.
- Two minutes to go to claim a point.
- Rantanen falls along the boards and pretends to be hurt trying to draw some type of penalty. He’s not a favourite of mine.
- And that’s a point for Montreal, a great result considering the situation, and they will be no worse than 2-1-2 on this trip. Still a chance to make that even better.
Overtime
- Dallas is 1-4 in overtime this season, which is quite surprising.
- The Stars take the first possession.
- Matheson fires high and wide on a rush. At least his stick stayed intact.
- Suzuki takes a shot that is just deflected over the net by Oettinger.
- Montembeault makes a huge save on Johnston as he splits through the coverage with speed.
- Slafkovský intercepts the puck in the neutral zone and gets a good chance.
- Off a faceoff win by Danault, Hutson sees all the space available to him on the right side of the ice, builds up speed, and heats Oettinger over the glove to win the game for his team.
LANE HUTSON OT HERO
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) January 4, 2026 at 5:36 PM
[image or embed]
- A 3-1-1 record during what could be the toughest road trip of the year is an excellent result for Montreal. They’re up to 52 points through 42 games, returning home one point out of first place in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
- After a needed two days off, the Habs will play in front of the home fans on Wednesday versus the hard-working Calgary Flames.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) He needs his Bell Centre moment
2) He got the win, but this is far from the Montembeault we saw last season
1) It’s been an amazing rise
