Dach scores twice, Canadiens hold off Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – Kirby Dach scored twice as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Utah Hockey Club 5-3 at Delta Center on Tuesday.

Mike Matheson and Cole Caufield each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (21-18-4), who are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games. Lane Hutson had three assists, and Sam Montembeault made 22 saves.

The Canadiens took four penalties in the opening 20 minutes, and trailed 2-1 after the first period. They recovered to outscore Utah 4-1 in the final two periods.

“We had to repair quickly,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “The locker room handled it and we came out and we looked like ourselves again in the second period.”

Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller each had two assists for Utah (18-18-7), which has lost nine of its last 11 games (2-7-2). Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves.

Utah had penalty issues in the second period, taking five penalties in the middle frame and giving up two goals.

“I didn't like our second period, starting with getting in the box,” said Utah coach Andre Tourigny. “We started getting in the box right from the beginning. ... long story short, it built up in the second period and instead of recovering, we got worse and that was the game.”

Josh Doan opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 2:11 of the first period, putting the puck in the net off a rebound from Keller.

Matheson made it 1-1 at 3:18, splitting both defensemen and beating Vejmelka five-hole for the goal.

“I think we were giving up a lot of odd-man rushes in the first period, taking a lot of penalties,” said Matheson. “The more we were able to eliminate that, the more success we had being able to get back into their zone and force them to defend instead of us being in our zone the whole period.”

Nick Bjugstad gave Utah a 2-1 lead at 19:06, as the forward chipped the puck over the back of Montembeault, which trickled into the back of the net.

“The second period as a whole hasn't been great this season,” said Bjugstad. “We've talked about it. We've got to be better as players. We know what we have to do and it's frustrating losing a game like that, especially the way we came out in the first.”

Patrik Laine scored at 10:40 of the second period, firing a one-timer off a pass from Alex Newhook to tie the game 2-2.

Dach gave Montreal a 3-2 lead at 18:34, as the forward drove in on net and slid the puck past Vejmelka.

“We got ourselves into some penalty trouble, you can't really do that, it creates problems for our team,” said Dach. “It's tough to get into the flow of the game and have four lines rolling, but we found a way to hit our stride in the second and just kind of roll from there.”

Logan Cooley scored at 3:07 of the third period to tie the game 3-3, scoring on a rebound from a shot by Keller.

Caufield made it 4-3 at 6:33, scoring off a pass from Hutson and beating Vejmelka on the blocker side.

Jake Evans had a chance to extend the lead with a penalty shot at 13:21, but was denied by Vejmelka.

Dach scored again at 16:15, beating Vejmelka on the glove side for the 5-3 final.

“I just like our process right now,” said St. Louis. “We have a great honesty amongst the group of where we are, how we're playing, and the guys are able to react, repair, and keep going.”

NOTES: Laine's goal, his 10th of the season, was his first score on even strength after nine straight power-play goals. It was also his 400th career point. ... Hutson became the sixth-fastest rookie defenseman in NHL history and the second-fastest rookie in Canadiens history to record 30 assists. He also extended his assist and point streaks to five games (one goal, eight assists). ... Defenseman John Marino made his debut for Utah after missing the first 42 games of the season. He sustained a back injury prior to the beginning of training camp and had surgery Oct. 23. The 27-year old logged 18:04 of ice time in his first game since April 15. “It took a couple of shifts getting your legs under you and just kind of the rhythm and flow of the game… I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Marino on his return. ... Utah placed forward Dylan Guenther on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 8. … Schmaltz’s two assists extended his point streak to three games (two goals, two assists).