NHL

Montreal Canadiens at Vegas Golden Knights

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Dach's goal midway through 3rd period rallies Canadiens to 3-2 win over the Golden Knights

Montreal Canadiens vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Game Highlights

The Canadiens scored the game's final three goals after trailing 2-0 late into the second period to win for the sixth time in seven games.

Cole Caufield and Emil Heineman also scored for Montreal, and Sam Montembeault stopped 27 shots and saved two point-blank shots in the final 14 seconds. Jake Evans' five-game goal streak ended.

Zach Whitecloud and Noah Hanifin scored for the Golden Knights, and Adin Hill made 19 saves.

This was just the second defeat this month for the Golden Knights, who went 10-2 in December.

Dach's goal came on a rush. He deked Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb on his way to the net.

Takeaways Canadiens: They never allowed the Golden Knights to get comfortable offensively. Vegas had several good looks, but struggled to gain much time in the offensive zone.

Golden Knights: Vegas did an excellent job of taking advantage of a favorable schedule this month and appeared to build on that success with a 2-0 lead. The Golden Knights open the new year against opponents in which they likely will be favored and must show this game was a momentary blip.

Key Moment The Golden Knights were on the verge of taking control up two goals and with a power play midway through the second period. They took three shots, two on goal, but didn't hit the back of the net to allow Montreal to remain within striking distance. The Canadiens took advantage by tying the game at 8:58 of the third and taking the lead at 10:09.

Key stat 100 — Colefield's goal was the 100th of his career.

Up next The Canadiens visit Chicago on Friday and the Golden Knights host Philadelphia on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 2:23 Zach Whitecloud Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Tomas Hertl (15), Keegan Kolesar (7)
Goal 1st Period 19:48 Noah Hanifin Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 2nd Period 17:27 Cole Caufield Goal (19) Wrist Shot, assists: Nick Suzuki (25), Juraj Slafkovsky (17)
Goal 3rd Period 7:58 Emil Heineman Goal (9) Wrist Shot, assists: David Savard (9)
Goal 3rd Period 10:09 Kirby Dach Goal (5) Backhand, assists: Josh Anderson (9)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMTL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/vgk.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originVGK
11 Blocked Shots 11
39 Hits 22
4 Takeaways 3
22 Shots 29
0 Power Play Goals 0
0 Power Play Opportunities 1
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
24 Faceoffs Won 17
58.5 Faceoff Win Percent 41.5
14 Giveaways 23
1 Total Penalties 0
2 Penalty Minutes 0

Game Information

T-Mobile Arena

Location: Las Vegas, NV
Attendance: 17,925 | Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Florida 34 20 71 3
Toronto 33 20 68 2
Tampa Bay 31 20 66 4
Ottawa 29 23 62 4
Detroit 28 22 61 5
Boston 27 24 60 6
Montreal 25 26 55 5
Buffalo 22 27 49 5

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Edmonton 34 17 72 4
Vegas 33 17 72 6
Los Angeles 29 17 65 7
Vancouver 26 18 63 11
Calgary 26 21 60 8
Anaheim 24 24 54 6
Seattle 24 29 52 4
San Jose 15 35 37 7
Full Standings