The Habs Steal 2 Points With Late Come Back Against The Senators
The Montreal Canadiens rallied back from being down 5-3 late in the 3rd period to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-5 in overtime. Both Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield scored 2 goals each to help the Habs get the job done and steal the 2 points on the road. Despite the win, the Canadiens were outplayed for most of the game, as they were outshot 34-19 by the Senators on the night.
The #Habs win a wild one over the Senators, beating them 6–5 in overtime.
Thoughts?
Les Canadiens de Montréal ont battu les Sénateurs d’Ottawa 6 à 5 en prolongation.
Prochain match : Canadiens vs Wild
20 janvier à 19 h #Habs #GoHabsGo #thesickpodcast @TonyMarinaro pic.twitter.com/8eLNMDUW19— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) January 18, 2026
As expected by pre-game trends, Saturday’s game was a very high-scoring affair, to the detriment of both goaltenders, who had tough nights. However, unlike Senators netminder Leevi Merilainen, Samuel Montembeault was actually able to make some big saves late in the 3rd period and overtime that allowed the Canadiens to get a win. It was the toughest night for Montembeault since he got back from his AHL stint, but his 29 saves on 34 shots were just enough to help the Habs win. While beating the Florida Panthers seems to be a given for Montembeault in his recent games against them, the same applies to him struggling when he plays the Ottawa Senators. He has now posted a save percentage below .900 in 5 straight meetings against the Senators but still has a 3-2 record in that time. Hopefully, he figures out how to play well against the Senators, but on Saturday, it didn’t matter as Merilainen at the other end was worse.
The Habs were lucky that they played such a struggling goaltender on Saturday, as their performance during the 2nd and most of the 3rd period certainly wasn’t good enough to deserve the win, but they managed to have one of their most opportunistic nights of the year, which made for a crazy and exciting ending. Scoring 6 goals while taking only 19 shots through 60:33 of game time almost certainly does not work on any other night, but the fact that they did should give them momentum for future games.
Juraj Slafkovsky gets things going in a hurry for the Habs 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/F11LiwDGx8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 18, 2026
After their power play came back to life on Thursday night by going 2-for-3 against the Buffalo Sabres, the Habs managed to carry that momentum into their game on Saturday. Slafkovsky would get the game’s very first goal after completing a passing play by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to open the scoring. The goal would come from Slafkovsky’s office in the bumper near the front of the net, where he has managed to score the majority of his 9 power play goals on the season.
Stutzle turns it over, Bolduc one-touches it in, but they were offside on entry, so we’re right back to 1-0. pic.twitter.com/PoBnlN4Zf9
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) January 18, 2026
A few minutes later, Jake Evans would have a puck to Zack Bolduc, who would rip a slot shot past Merilainen and appear to have given the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. However, the Senators were able to get the goal overturned for offside, and Bolduc’s first goal in 12 games was taken off the board. Bolduc now has just 1 assist in his 12 games.
20 of Cole Caufield’s 60 goals since 2024-25 have been scored on a Saturday#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/P9M2EFu3pK
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) January 18, 2026
The Habs would get their 2nd goal back on a late 1st-period power play. Suzuki would lose the puck along the boards but immediately go back and outmuscle Claude Giroux to poke the puck forward to Caufield, who was left all alone by Thomas Chabot. Once he got the puck, Caufield skated towards the net and released a wrister that went through Merilainen’s five-hole to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead.
Brady Tkachuk gets Ottawa on the board! 🙌 #HockeyDay pic.twitter.com/LJqtRVehMR
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 18, 2026
The Habs would get into penalty trouble by taking 2 penalties in the last minute of the 1st period, which would quickly change momentum early in the 2nd period. Just 42 seconds into the 2nd frame, Jake Sanderson would nearly beat Montembeault with an end-to-end rush up the ice that would be stopped. However, the shot would lead to a rebound, where Giroux would send the puck across the slot to Brady Tkachuk, who would put the puck in the back of the net to get the Senators on the board.
TIM STUTZLE GOES BETWEEN THE LEGS FOR A NASTY GOAL OH MY 😱🤢 pic.twitter.com/g8p1yUBQ5k
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 18, 2026
Just 2:25 later, Tim Stutzle would skate in after winning a puck battle against Alexandre Carrier that would leave the Habs defenseman to lose his footing and give the Senators forward lots of room to get to the net. Stutzle would beat Montembeault with a between-the-legs shot that would go top corner to tie the game. It was a beautiful individual goal, but it was also one that Montembeault and Carrier would both want back, as the Sens star forward made both of them look silly on the play. If Montembeault had covered his post better on the shot, it wouldn’t have sneaked over his shoulder and in either.
#Habs Josh Anderson through traffic for goal vs #Senators
Assists: Matheson, Dobson#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/Xdvcuw6FGj
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) January 18, 2026
Despite the Senators tying the game up, the Habs would respond almost immediately when Josh Anderson took a screened wrist shot from the point that would beat Merilainen and give the Habs a 3-2 lead. It was a goal that an NHL goalie likely should have stopped, as it wasn’t a very strong shot, but the Habs and Anderson will take it, as it’s not how it went in; it’s a matter of it did.
Tim Stützle feeds Dylan Cozens for #24’s team-leading eighth power play goal of the season. Tie game pic.twitter.com/5Z2ybiGaee
— Andrew Wilimek (@AndrewWilimek) January 18, 2026
During another power play later in the period, the Senators would tie the game once again off a Dylan Cozens wrister from the slot that beat Montembeault due to a screen in front. Cozens’ goal came with just 3 seconds left on the Habs penalty. It was a goal that felt like a bit of a backbreaker for the Canadiens and allowed the Senators to grab all the momentum in the game.
David Perron sneaks one past Sam Montembeault 🤫 #HockeyDay pic.twitter.com/OVO3k80yYG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 18, 2026
David Perron would give the Senators their first lead of the game with 1:36 left in the 2nd period, after Artem Zub would throw a shot towards the net that would bounce off Perron’s leg and in. One of the biggest issues with this goal was the fact that Noah Dobson tried tying up Perron’s stick while in Montembeault’s crease rather than trying to get the Senators forward out of his goaltender’s crease. Due to an obstruction in his crease, Montembeault wasn’t able to stop the Zub shot that came his way. While the Habs could have possibly been challenged for goaltender interference because it was Dobson initiating the contact that would impede his netminder, the Habs likely would have lost their challenge and gotten a penalty. Therefore, because of Dobson’s mistake of not getting the Sens forward out of the way, the Habs had to enter the final 20 minutes of regulation down a goal.
JAKE SANDERSON IS ELECTRIC!! #GOSENSGO
Sanderson has 4 points in a huge game. So superior to Hutson it’s not even funny. pic.twitter.com/bmWbkejFyW
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) January 18, 2026
Unfortunately, the Habs would struggle to get any pressure or good scoring chances going early in the 3rd period, as they seemed to lack urgency despite being down a goal. This would eventually lead to Dobson taking a bad shot into the shin pads just as Ridly Greig’s power play expired, which allowed the Senators player to get the puck and go on an odd-man rush where he would skate to the net and feed a trailing Jake Sanderson, who would fire a wrister past Montembeault to give his team a 2-goal lead. Sanderson would finish the night with a goal and 3 assists for the Senators.
Dobson really had a tough night and was a big part of why the Senators’ 4th and 5th goals occurred. In the future, Dobson should try to get the puck in deep if he sees no passing or shooting lanes available for him. Dobson is currently the highest-paid player on the team, and he needs to be better than he was on Saturday if he wants to help his team win.
Juraj Slafkovsky redonne espoir au CH avec son deuxième du match🚨
5-4 Ottawa#GoHabsGo c. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/TKznOCyYQq— RDS (@RDSca) January 18, 2026
Even while being 2 goals down, it would take a while for the Canadiens to show any urgency, as they were stuck at 12 shots on net for a huge chunk of the period. It wouldn’t be until head coach Martin St. Louis decided to pull Montembeault for an extra attacker that things started to change. Phillip Danault would win a faceoff with a little less than 4:30 left in regulation straight to Lane Hutson, who would shoot the puck towards the net, which would be tipped by Slafkovsky and go in the back of the net to cut the lead to 5-4 Senators, giving the Canadiens some much-needed life. With his goal, Slafkovsky became the 5th Habs player to reach 40 points, which is the most 40+ point scorers in the NHL as of now.
The Montreal Canadiens are the first team to have 5 players with at least 40 points.
Nick Suzuki – 54
Lane Hutson – 50
Cole Caufield – 48
Ivan Demidov – 41
Juraj Slafkovsky – 40Average age: 22.6
— Chris Meaney (@chrismeaney) January 18, 2026
Only 1:05 later, Carrier would tie the game up at 5, thanks to a pass from behind the net from rookie Ivan Demidov right in an area that would allow Carrier to rip a one-timer from inside the right faceoff circle. It was a perfect pass and shot that would allow the Habs to come back and tie the game so late into regulation.
#Habs Ivan Demidov sets up Alexandre Carrier for one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle goal vs #Senators
Assists: Demidov, Anderson#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/LNHEOe28qn
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) January 18, 2026
The Carrier goal gave the Habs confidence that would eventually lead to the game-winning goal early in overtime. However, before overtime, Montembeault had to make a few strong saves to make sure the Habs could secure at least one point.
IT’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL CAUFIELD FOR THE WIN! 🙌
His @Energizer overtime winner caps off the comeback for the @CanadiensMTL! pic.twitter.com/IEZLchPmps
— NHL (@NHL) January 18, 2026
In overtime, the Habs started with the puck, and Hutson had an opportunity to beat Merilainen immediately off the faceoff, but he couldn’t solve the Senators’ netminder. The play would go the other way for a 2-on-1 where Giroux attempted to pass the puck to Stutzle, who fanned on it. This would allow Hutson to get the puck right back and feed Caufield, who would skate towards the net before firing a slapper off the post, off Merilainen’s back, and into the net for the game-winner. The Habs’ win was a big one, as they are keeping pace with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division, sitting just a point back while also staying 3 points ahead of the Boston Bruins for 3rd place in the division.
Caufield continues his dominance against the Senators, as he now has 3 goals and 4 assists in 3 games against them this season. Meanwhile, Habs captain Suzuki now has 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points in 3 matchups.
It wasn’t the Habs’ easiest game or their best performance, but they got things done late and managed to get a very important 2 points in the standings. The Canadiens will play next on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild on home ice. They have lost 9 straight meetings against the Wild. Can they finally put an end that streak on Tuesday?
What were your thoughts on Saturday’s game?
