Canadiens Secure Crucial Regulation Win Against Wild

Comments / New Canadiens vs. Wild Top Six Minutes: Habs push late for a big regulation win They lost a lead in the third period but got it back just before time expired. First period The crowd picks up where it left of at the end of the last homestand, with a loud “Go Habs Go!” chant. Each line played its first shift in Minnesota’s zone. Ivan Demidov worked himself into the best chance of the opening minutes, but passed off from a prime scoring area. He needs to be a little more selfish. It looks like Montreal’s legs work again. Kirill Kaprizov passes the puck from behind Montreal’s net right to Juraj Slafkovský, and he sends his linemates on a two-on-one. This time Demidov does try to carry it and get the shot off himself and gets it blocked, but a follow-up chance is there for Oliver Kapanen, and then a second chance the puck is loose behind the goal line for an attempted bank shot. When the Canadiens get set up in the offensive zone they’re making it look like a power play. I suppose it was just a matter of time before Montreal got called for an offensive-zone penalty with how much possession they’ve held. Phillip Danault will head off for slashing as shots reach 7-1 Montreal. And the Wild open the scoring on their second shot at the 10:46 mark of the period. Vladimir Tarasenko scored a quick power-play goal. Suddenly the Habs are having a lot of trouble keeping teams off the board on the penalty kill. Danault makes up for his penalty by batting in a mid-air rebound off a Kaiden Guhle point shot and Josh Anderson tip. Brendan Gallagher did some great work along the boards to keep the shift going. Kaiden Guhle puts a shot on, and Phillip Danault cleans up the rebound to make it 1-0 #Habs with his first since returning to the team! [image or embed] — Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 20, 2026 at 8:37 PM Now the Wild take an offensive-zone penalty as Ryan Hartman heads off for tripping. Too many passes from the top unit yet again. Wallstedt leaves another juicy rebound, but the ref bails him out by blowing the play dead. The Wild are really trying to break this constant Montreal pressure by diving and dropping sticks trying to get calls. Montreal takes advantage of their zone time with their second goal of the period. Mike Matheson took the shot from the blue line, and it deflected off Alexandre Carrier stationed in the high slot. Carrier now has four goals in his last five games. Mike Matheson shot from the point, and Alex Carrier gets a nifty tip on the way, 2-0 #Habs [image or embed] — Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 20, 2026 at 8:44 PM That was the best period we’ve seen Montreal play since the last time they were at the Bell Centre. The only blemish was a penalty and subsequent goal, and even that call was made with the puck in Minnesota’s zone. Second period Montreal is being too nonchalant with its passes to begin the second period and the Wild are picking them off. Someone clearly told Demidov to shoot after that pass-off in the first period, because he’s firing every time he gets the puck now. I bet Slafkovský yelled at him. The game is tied as the puck gets through a screen in front of Dobeš. Brock Faber gets credit for sifting it through. Shots are 7-3 Minnesota in the second as Montreal hasn’t carried its first-period play over. Demidov chose a pass on his latest shift but only while looking at the net like he was going to shoot it. It works as he sets up a one-time goal for Lane Hutson. Demidov sells shot HARD, then no-looks it to Lane Hutson for a one-timer to put the #Habs back up 3-2. [image or embed] — Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 20, 2026 at 9:27 PM Noah Dobson is the only defenceman yet to hit the scoresheet. Now the Habs are looking more like they did to begin this game. Suzuki makes a good defensive play in the neutral zone to knock the puck down and then gets kneed by Hartman as he tries to collect it. Montreal will have its chance to take a two-goal lead to the intermission. Eric Furlatt just saw Marcus Foligno fall at the blue line and called the nearest Canadien for tripping. Hutson goes the box, but Foligno fell on his own with no Canadiens player touching him. A potential game-changing power play spoiled by a phantom call. In fairness to Foligno, I think he just caught a rut and fell, and that wasn’t one of the cases of a Wild player trying to draw a call to get out of a sticky situation. Montreal just treated the four-on-four like a power play with a duo of Suzuki and Slafkovský up front. Good chances for both of them. The third period should be the most lethargic for the Wild, and they were already outplayed in each of the first two. After Minnesota’ second goal, the Canadiens had full control of the puck. Montreal needs to just continue what its been doing and not sit back to see out the clock. Third period RDS shows that Furlatt went to the box to apologize to Hutson for the call. That didn’t give them their power play back, though. Suzuki gets taken down again as he tries to play the puck up the ice, and we have another Montreal power play. For how long? I guess we’ll find out. Two minutes it lasts, coming to an end without a goal, and not nearly enough urgency to extend the lead. Minnesota is getting the puck in the offensive zone, but Montreal is forcing them to play on the perimeter, with no shots to show for it. It would be nice to see the puck in the Wild end, however. Jayden Struble tumbles at the offensive blue line, and that allows the Wild to get their first real offensive look of the period. On the play, they also draw another penalty, and it’s once more going to Hutson. Montreal actually gets the benefit of a call as the referee blows the play dead despite the puck being free to the side of Dobeš. Now Matheson heads off for tripping to give Minnesota a five-on-three for 45 seconds. Minnesota now leads this game in power plays, 4-3. Danault wins the first faceoff, taking about 15 seconds off the clock with a clear. Hutson gets out of the box just a second too late to disrupt a pass, and the play ends with Tarasenko scoring his second power-play goal of the evening to tie the game. As frustrating as the officiating is, there’s no reason for Montreal to be sitting on two shots in this period on two days’ rest versus a team that played last night. Carrier hits the post as he looks for his second goal of the night. A conservative offensive-zone shift from the Slafkovský line still results in a scoring chance as they work the puck off the boards. Danault’s line has a good shift deep in the Wild end again, with another scoring chance. Montreal is taking over now and looking for a late winner. An find a late goal they do. Caufield makes an aggressive play to blitz the zone as the Wild try to clear, extending the shift for some tired defenders. He ends up with the goal, and it will be his seventh game-winner of the season. Minnesota very nearly spoiled it with a last-season chance that just went wide. That could turn out to be a big regulation win once the 82 regular-season games have been played. Great push to take advantage of the opponent’s fatigue. The crowd is getting used to seeing wins at home again. They’ll hope for another one on Thursday with the Buffalo Sabres in town. EOTP 3 Stars 3) Indeed they were 2) Such a simple thing 1) I think he’s a team-friendly guy