Kaiden Guhle scored the go-ahead goal with 15.7 seconds remaining and Cole Caufield and Zack Bolduc had a goal and assist each to lift the visiting Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Defenseman Guhle’s point shot beat Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight to cap a lengthy sequence that saw Chicago unable to clear the defensive zone.
Nick Suzuki tallied three assists for Montreal.
Referees whistled the Blackhawks for 39 penalty minutes that created 10 power plays for the Canadiens, who scored twice with the man advantage.
Chicago finished 1-for-4 on the power play.
The Blackhawks successfully killed four penalties in a scoreless first period, including 33 seconds of 5-on-3 time for the Canadiens after Connor Murphy was called for interference in the neutral zone.
If two-minute minors were the norm in the first 20 minutes, goals became the popular attraction over the next 20. The Canadiens and Blackhawks both scored twice between the 2:45 and 9:15 marks, with Montreal breaking through on the power play for both of its tallies.
Caufield opened the scoring at 2:45 of the second period, redirecting a puck out of midair and past Knight.
Chicago rookie defenseman Sam Rinzel answered with his first career goal just 1:49 later, weaving into the right circle before beating Montembault with a wrist shot.
Gifted with another man advantage soon after, Montreal capitalized when Bolduc kept the puck alive and scored on a rebound amid heavy traffic in front of the net at 5:45 of the second.
An offseason acquisition from the St. Louis Blues, Bolduc has scored in each of his first three games with Montreal.
The Blackhawks answered at 9:15 of the second on a power-play goal, as Frank Nazar’s shot deflected off Connor Bedard and into the net.
Nazar and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists for the Blackhawks.
Montreal outshot Chicago 28-22, but the Blackhawks registered 12 shots on goal in the third period. Montembault made 20 saves for the Canadiens.
Saturday marked the first time since Nov. 1, 2008 (against the Columbus Blue Jackets) that a Chicago opponent had at least nine power-play opportunities in a game.
–Field Level Media
