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After 11 seconds of play in Dallas, it didn’t look like it would be the Canadiens’ game as they were already down 1-0. The Stars’ captain, Jaime Benn was on the receiving end of a Mike Matheson turnover right in the slot and he made no mistake beating Samuel Montembeault to give his team the early lead. The Habs didn’t sulk though, they put on their working boots and got back into the game swiftly. Four minutes later, Nick Suzuki beat Scott Wedgewood with a one-timer off a Slafkovsky feed to get back on level term. Then, five minutes later, Kaiden Guhle stepped into a shot to give Montreal a lead it would never give up.
Jordan Harris scored his first of the season during the middle frame and Cole Caufield got a third goal in as many games on a power play in the third. With a 4-1 lead, it looked like the Canadiens would be coasting to victory, but the Stars’ best period this season is the last one. Before yesterday’s game, Dallas had scored 44 goals in the last frame and a lead is never safe against such a team. With over six minutes left to play, Peter DeBoer pulled his goaltender to deploy six skaters and the Stars cashed in on the move. They scored twice playing six on five through Johnson and Robertson, but they came up just short. It was more than time for the buzzer to ring though as Montreal was literally under siege and looked ready to give up a game-tying goal.
The win gives the Canadiens seven points out of a possible 14 on their seven-game roadtrip, which is an acceptable result. As things stand, the Habs are five points out of a playoff spot and 25th overall in the league. While they are not expected to make the playoffs, it’s nice to see that they aren’t out of contention, which is an improvement on their status last season around the same time.
While they left Dallas with the two points, the Canadiens appear to have lost Josh Anderson for some time. The power forward exited the game after it looked like his knee overextended as he was battling for the puck, and he fell awkwardly on the ice. Anderson had to be helped back to the locker-room, which never bodes well.
Montreal has a day off today and there won’t be any media availability so we shouldn’t expect to know more about his status before tomorrow at the earliest. It could take longer if there is some swelling in the leg and they have to wait to do the appropriate tests. We should however have an update on Christian Dvorak soon as he was injured earlier in the road trip and we were told he was out indefinitely.
The Canadiens weren’t the only victorious Montreal side on the road last night though. In the first game of the franchise’s history, the PWHL Montreal won a real nailbiter in overtime. While Ottawa dominated much of the game and deserved the win, but Montreal overcame its own lack of discipline to earn two points thanks to Ann-Sophie Bettez’s extra time goal. Had they won the game in regulation, they would have earned three points in the standings. Ann-Renée Desbiens played a great game, denying Ottawa several times as Montreal was shorthanded and astute line adjustments from head coach Kori Cheverie gave her team the energy boost it needed to tie up the game and send it to overtime.
Rookie Claire Dalton who captained Yale in the NCAA with 36 points in 33 games last season had the honor of scoring the franchise’s first goal with assists from Dempsey and Marchment. Montreal was also given the first penalty shot in league history, but captain Marie-Philip Poulin was stopped by Ottawa goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer. Montreal will now play its next game on Saturday afternoon against Minnesota. Just like the League’s inaugural game, yesterday’s contest featured fast-paced physical action and the 8,318 fans who attended the match to set a new assistance record for a professional women’s hockey game won’t have been disappointed even though their favorite lost the game.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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