On Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Utah Hockey Club 5-3 at Delta Center.
Josh Doan opened up the scoreboard for Utah; Utah was looking for a one-timer but ended up with a wrist shot from Clayton Keller, and Doan got the rebound and put it in the net for the score.
The Canadiens responded with a snap-shot goal from Mike Matheson to tie the game. Near the end of the first period, the puck did the work. The puck did its magic and helped Uath out. Nick Bjugstad got the credit for the goal. The goal is his fifth of the season.
After a successful first period of intense play, the Utah team turned gloomy and sour in the second and third periods. Turnovers killed Utah, and the Canadiens took advantage of their miscues.
Utah Hockey Club had nine giveaways and 13 takeaways for the night
Patrik Laine tied the game at 2 in the second period. It's Laine's 10th goal of the season. Eight minutes later, Kirby Dach joined the party and put the Canadiens on top 3-2 with a backhand goal.
In the third period, Utah looked like they regained momentum after Logan Cooley tied the game at 3, his 12th goal of the season. However, the Canadiens have other thoughts. They immediately killed the momentum after Cole Caufield regained the lead for the Canadiens. Dach would add his second goal of the night to put the dagger in the game.
It was a hard-fought game between both clubs, but penalty issues and turnovers cost Utah the victory. Utah took five penalties in the second period.
The Canadiens tied the season series. Utah won the last meeting 3-2 on the road on November 26.
The silver lining for Utah is that they got their defenseman back, John Marino, who was out for 42 games; he had to get surgery after sustaining a back injury during the beginning of training camp.
Marino is vital for Utah's defense, and they're hoping he can stay healthy and productive for the rest of the season.
Forward Dylan Guenther remains out for Utah because of a lower-body injury he suffered in a game against the Florida Panthers after a hit from forward Aleksander Barkov.
Before the injury, Guenther was leading the team in goals with 16. Doan has been his replacement and would need to continue to score in his absence, as he did against the Canadiens.
Utah will host against the New York Rangers on Thursday night. It will be their second meeting. Utah won the first meeting 6-5 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.