Cole Caufield’s one-timer with 15 seconds left in regulation lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, ending Minnesota’s two-game winning streak.
Caufield gave Montreal its third and final lead when he one-timed a pass from Nick Suzuki past Jesper Wallstedt’s glove from the top of the right circle at 19:45 of the third period, his 25th goal of the season.
“We just found a way to keep the puck alive, and luckily it went in,” Caufield said. “That’s why you play the full 60 minutes or 65, whatever it is. They all count the same, but it feels good to get two points tonight.”
Lane Hutson had a goal and an assist, Phillip Danault and Alexandre Carrier also scored, while Ivan Demidov had two assists and Jakub Dobes made 16 saves for Montreal, which improved to 28-15-7 and has won consecutive games.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice on the power play and Brock Faber also scored for Minnesota, which fell to 28-14-9. The Wild had won consecutive games, including a 6-3 victory at Toronto on Monday night.
Wallstedt made 29 saves one night after Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves against the Maple Leafs.
“A point would have been huge,” Faber said. “Back-to-backs, like that, obviously getting it into overtime would have given us a chance to get two points. I think that one sucked at the end, that last shift. He’s the most dangerous player on the ice, and I’ve got to close harder there. That’s what he does. He scores big goals. It would have been great to give ourselves a chance to earn the two points in overtime.”
The Wild had a 5-on-3 advantage for 44 seconds after Mike Matheson was called for tripping at 8:11 of the third period with Hutson already in the penalty box for hooking.
Tarasenko tied the game 3-3 at 12:40 with his second power-play goal of the game, scoring his fourth goal in two games from the right side of the net seven seconds after Hutson’s penalty expired.
“I think we played the game a little bit more north, south,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought our puck decisions were a lot better. We forced them to defend a little bit more. So we understood what was going on in the game. It was our job to get ourselves back to give ourselves a chance, and I really liked the fact that we dug in and we did that.”
Tarasenko opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 10:44 of the first period, beating Dobes on Minnesota’s second shot with a one-timer.
Danault jammed in a rebound to break his goal drought and tie the game at 15:22 of the first period, scoring his first goal of the season.
Carrier doubled Montreal’s lead with 52 seconds remaining in the opening period, redirecting Matheson’s point shot after carrying the puck into Minnesota’s zone.
Faber pulled Minnesota within one goal midway through the second period before Hutson restored Montreal’s two-goal advantage later in the frame.
The loss prevented Minnesota from earning a crucial point while playing the second game of back-to-back contests. The Wild outshot Montreal 19-16 through two periods but could not maintain their lead in the final frame.
“Wally played great, kept us in it all night,” Faber said. “They’ve got a fast hockey team, every single guy can skate and move. It’s hard to win here in this building.”
Tarasenko became the fourth player in Wild history to record multiple goals on consecutive days. Kirill Kaprizov accomplished the feat twice, on December 17-18, 2022, and January 24-25, 2023.
Minnesota continues its road trip Thursday when it hosts the Detroit Red Wings at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Wild return home after playing two games in three nights.
Montreal has won back-to-back games after struggling through a recent stretch. The Canadiens improved their home record and moved closer to playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.
