CHICAGO (AP) — July Slavkowski, Nick Suzuki and David Savard each had one goal and one assist, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday night.
Mitchell Stevens and Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal, which trailed 2-0 early in the second period. Kayden Primeau made 19 saves.
With their second win over the Blackhawks this season, the Canadiens enter the NHL’s Christmas break on a five-game winning streak (3-0-2).
Suzuki, who scored the team’s top 10th goal, said, “I certainly wasn’t satisfied with the start.” “We know our style of play and we know we can get back in the game just by being relentless on the forecheck and hunting.
“We turned over a lot of pucks, got a lot of chances, and (Stevens) started us off with some big tips.”
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis credited his players’ straightforward, physical style for allowing them to take the lead.
“We’re just getting back to our game, so to speak,” St. Louis said. “We had some big plays, we had some big goals in key situations, and I thought that energized us. And I thought we played a great third period.”
Stevens started Montreal’s return with his first goal since March 3, 2020, in a game between Tampa Bay and Boston. Anderson and Slavkowski scored 2 minutes, 31 seconds apart late in the middle to give the Canadians the lead.
“I don’t know if they let us come back or if it was just us playing well,” Suzuki said.
Savard added an empty netter with 1:56 left.
Ryan Donato scored for the second straight game and Jason Dickinson scored his career-high 10th goal, but the last-place Blackhawks were once again unable to hold on to their lead.
NHL rookie scorer Connor Bedard set up Donato’s goal and recorded his fifth assist in the last three games. Petr Mrazek made 23 saves in his third consecutive start.
“They pushed, we didn’t push,” Dickinson said. “I felt like they scored a few goals, but then we kind of fell back and maybe could have caught up. And we really couldn’t do anything in the third period.”
Primeau was backed up by Sam Montembeau, who made 20 saves in Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota. Jake Allen, who is reportedly on the trade block, was a healthy addition to Montreal’s goalie trio.
Blackhawks forward Colin Blackwell, playing in his second game since having hernia surgery in March, set up Dickinson’s goal with a spinning play in the slot and posted a short-handed breakaway in the first period. It hit directly.
The Blackhawks were boosted by the return of defensemen Kevin Kolchinski and Jared Tinordi.
It was the 19-year-old Korchinsky’s first match since December 7th. His father Larry had passed away and the rookie had left the team to spend time with his family.
Tinordi, a burly 31-year-old, returned from injured reserve after missing six games with a concussion. In response, Chicago assigned defensemen Wyatt Kizer and Phillip Ruth to Rockford of the AHL.
Chicago was left without defenseman Seth Jones and rookie Alex Vlasic. Both have shoulder injuries.
Donato scored the first goal with 3:04 left in the first inning. Bedard twisted to avoid cover on the left boards and sent a pass to Donato, who fired under Primeau’s glove.
Blackwell set the stage, and Dickinson followed up with a shot 3:43 into the second goal, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead.
However, Chicago coach Luke Richardson said his team did not play a “smart game” and at times seemed “unaware” when starting in the middle slot.
“Their level of competition in the second period was just right, they just stepped up the level and we played on the outside,” Richardson said.
Stevens put Montreal ahead at the 4:20 mark by converting Mike Matheson’s shot from the right point.
Anderson tied it with 4:58 left in the second. He ran down the crease unscathed as Blackhawks coverage crossed up and took a feed from Sean Monahan.
Slavkowski scored his second goal in two games to put the Canadians ahead 3-2. He twisted away from defenseman Isaac Phillips at the edge of the crease and tucked in the loose rebound.
next
Canadians: At Carolina on Thursday.
Blackhawks: At St. Louis on Saturday.
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