Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes outdueled Winnipeg’s Eric Comrie by the narrowest of margins on Wednesday, but the host netminder got a little help in the end as the Canadiens pulled out a 3-2 shootout victory over the Jets.
Cole Caufield opened the shootout with the only goal, and after stopping Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, Dobes saw Gabriel Vilardi’s shot ring off the post to give the Canadiens the second point and snap a two-game losing streak.
Juraj Slafkovsky and Oliver Kapanen got Montreal on the board, with Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Nick Suzuki and Alexandre Texier registering assists.
Dobes made 29 saves for the Canadiens.
Scheifele and Connor both scored their team-best 14th goals of the season in regulation for the Jets, and the linemates also assisted on each other’s goals. Vilardi and Dylan DeMelo added helpers, too.
Comrie rejected 29 shots for the Jets, who lost in a shootout for the first time this season.
After giving up three first-period goals and getting yanked on Monday, Comrie stood tall against the Canadiens in the first 20 minutes. He stopped all 11 shots and came up big on four of those when Montreal sought to capitalize on a couple of defensive zone giveaways.
Comrie’s play enabled the Jets to take the lead with 1:25 remaining in the first thanks to Scheifele. The center trailed on the play as Connor got to the puck in the Canadiens’ zone, and Scheifele scored as he skated into the high slot.
The teams combined for three goals in a 4:04 stretch of the second period.
Slafkovsky scored a power-play goal with 10:01 to go. Connor put the Jets back up with 8:07 left as the Jets sustained pressure in the Habs’ end, partially because Slafkovsky lost his stick.
Montreal equalized again with 5:57 remaining when Kapanen beat Comrie.
Neither team could net the game-winner in either the third period or overtime, with Comrie making five saves in overtime. He could not match Dobes, though, in the shootout as the Jets lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-5-1).
Winnipeg will host four of their next five contests.
