In Chicago, Kirby Dach came back to haunt his old team Friday afternoon.
“I did it back in junior when I got booed, so I thought it was fitting,” Dach said. “It just came to mind.”
Dach was credited with the deciding goal on penalty shots for a 3-2 win for the Montreal Canadiens over the Blackhawks.
“I was excited,” Dach said. “Anytime you get to come back to a place you used to play in and put on a show like that, it’s pretty good.”
Chicago has lost six straight with an 0-5-1 stretch.
“We played from behind a little bit tonight, but I don’t know, maybe we’re better at that this year,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “I thought we had a little trouble with our energy level tonight. I liked the try, but it just didn’t look like we had the legs there. Maybe [it’s] a little bit of the games catching up to us; no morning skate is a little different.
“But I think [we] battled, and [we] willed [ourselves] to overtime and then had a really good penalty kill in overtime. Unfortunately, [the Canadiens] got the one more shot. I’d love an extra point just because the way we’ve been battling the last few games.”
Sam Montembeault made 30 saves in the Montreal win.
“It feels great,” Montembeault said. “It’s obviously nice to see that the coaches trust me to get a second start in a row on the road trip like this. It’s always fun to come down here [to Chicago]. The music is great in the warmup, the national anthem really gets you going, so it’s always fun. To leave with two wins on this road trip is really nice.”
Nick Suzuki (power play) scored in the middle frame to give the Habs a 2- lead in the game.
“It’s definitely built for the dramatic, for sure,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said of Dach scoring. “You want to play a big game coming back here. I liked his game. To have the opportunity to be that guy that seals the deal at the end, it’s good that he was in that position. Obviously, he delivered for us.”
Joel Edmundson hit for a goal in the first period to give Montreal a 1-0 lead.
“You spend three years here, a high pick from here, we were fortunate enough to grab him on a trade,” St. Louis said. “It’s been nice to be front and center watching him every day and what he brings to our team. Tonight was a big play and big moment.”
Montreal improved to 11-9-1.
The Blackhawks tied it, 1-1, on a goal from Caleb Jones in the first.
“Yeah, that felt good,” Jones said. “I think I’ve had a lot of looks this year. I had some assists (seven) but haven’t had one go in, so it was nice to see it go in.”
Chicago forced the extra session with a strike from Taylor Raddysh off the power play in the third period.
Arvid Soderblom made 21 saves in the Hawks loss.
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