Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens
· National Hockey LeagueKirby Dach scores in OT as Canadiens beat Penguins 3-2
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist for Montreal, which trailed 2-0 after two periods. Cole Caufield also scored, and Kaiden Guhle had two assists.
The Canadiens (2-2-0) also won their home opener, beating Toronto 4-3 on Wednesday night.
“It’s huge for us,” Suzuki said. “We want to be good on home ice. In the last couple of years, we haven’t really done that. It’s important to win at home and we want to put on a good show for our fans, so to win games, and to win games like that, it’s pretty fun.”
After Jeff Petry was sent off in overtime for cross-checking for his third penalty of the game, Dach got a pass from Sean Monahan and beat Casey DeSmith for the power-play goal.
It was Dach's first goal since he was acquired in a July trade with Chicago.
Evgeni Malkin had two goals for Pittsburgh, and Bryan Rust had two assists. DeSmith made 36 saves.
“It’s real disappointing,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We didn’t like the first period at all. I thought the second period we started to play. I thought we were probably the better team in the second period, but that’s the only period. It’s hard to win in this league when we only play one period.”
Crosby was held off the scoresheet. The center had a goal and two assists in each of the Penguins' first two games — both victories.
Samuel Montembeault stopped 26 shots for Montreal.
The Penguins nearly jumped out to an early lead. Danton Heinen grabbed a loose puck in the left faceoff circle and surprised Montembeault with a wrist shot, but a video review showed the puck hit both goalposts without crossing the goal line.
After a scoreless first period, Malkin got his second goal of the season 3:52 into the second. He converted a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Marcus Pettersson.
Malkin recorded his second goal of the game four minutes later. The center hopped on Montembeault’s rebound in the slot to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.
The Canadiens cut the deficit to one early in the third. Suzuki broke into the offensive zone and hit the post with a wrist shot, but the captain rounded the net to grab his own rebound and tapped it in.
With 2:26 remaining, the Canadiens called a timeout and pulled Montembeault. Jonathan Drouin then found Caufield with a cross-ice pass, and Caufield tied it at 2.
PETRY RETURNS
Petry played his first game at the Bell Centre in a Penguins uniform. The 34-year-old defenseman was booed on his first touch of the puck.
During a commercial break in the first period, the Canadiens showed a video honoring Petry’s eight seasons in Montreal. He received a nice ovation, only to be booed seconds later on his next shift.
ALLEN ON LEAVE
Goaltender Jake Allen missed the game because he was on parental leave with his wife due to give birth. Montembeault was told he would be in for Allen the morning of the game.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Montembeault said about preparing for the game. “It wasn’t until this morning when I showed up to the rink and I saw that his gear wasn’t there, so I kind of knew at that moment that I was going to be in.”
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
Canadiens: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.
Regular Season SeriesMTL leads series 1-0
Scoring Summary
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Goal | 2nd Period 3:52 | Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin assisted by Marcus Pettersson and Bryan Rust |
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Goal | 2nd Period 7:56 | Goal scored by Evgeni Malkin assisted by Bryan Rust and Pierre-Olivier Joseph |
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Goal | 3rd Period 1:10 | Goal scored by Nick Suzuki assisted by Kaiden Guhle and Mike Hoffman |
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Goal | 3rd Period 17:40 | Goal scored by Cole Caufield assisted by Jonathan Drouin and Kaiden Guhle |
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Goal | 4th Period 3:09 | Goal scored by Kirby Dach assisted by Sean Monahan and Nick Suzuki (PPG) |
Statistics
PIT |
MTL |
|
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Blocked Shots | 16 |
| 17 | Hits | 19 |
| 2 | Takeaways | 12 |
| 28 | Shots | 39 |
| 0 | Power Play Goals | 1 |
| 3 | Power Play Opportunities | 3 |
| 0.0 | Power Play Percentage | 33.3 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 28 | Faceoffs Won | 26 |
| 51.9 | Faceoff Win Percent | 48.1 |
| 19 | Giveaways | 16 |
| 3 | Total Penalties | 3 |
| 6 | Penalty Minutes | 6 |
Montreal Canadiens Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Kirby Dach, C | Out | Mar 17 |
| Patrik Laine, RW | Injured Reserve | Jan 10 |
Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Hayes, RW | Out | Mar 18 |
| Samuel Girard, D | Out | Mar 18 |
| Blake Lizotte, C | Out | Mar 17 |
| Ryan Graves, D | Injured Reserve | Mar 14 |
| Filip Hallander, C | Injured Reserve | Feb 27 |
Game Information
Bell Centre
Location: Montreal, QC
Attendance: 21,105 | Capacity:
Location: Montreal, QC
Attendance: 21,105 | Capacity:
2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Carolina |
43 | 19 | 92 | 6 |
Pittsburgh |
34 | 18 | 84 | 16 |
NY Islanders |
39 | 24 | 83 | 5 |
Columbus |
35 | 21 | 81 | 11 |
Washington |
34 | 27 | 76 | 8 |
Philadelphia |
31 | 23 | 74 | 12 |
New Jersey |
35 | 31 | 72 | 2 |
NY Rangers |
28 | 32 | 64 | 8 |
2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Buffalo |
42 | 20 | 90 | 6 |
Tampa Bay |
41 | 21 | 86 | 4 |
Montreal |
37 | 20 | 84 | 10 |
Boston |
37 | 23 | 82 | 8 |
Detroit |
37 | 23 | 82 | 8 |
Ottawa |
34 | 24 | 77 | 9 |
Toronto |
29 | 28 | 70 | 12 |
Florida |
33 | 31 | 69 | 3 |




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MTL
Carolina
Pittsburgh
NY Islanders
Columbus
Washington
Philadelphia
New Jersey
NY Rangers
Buffalo
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Boston
Detroit
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Toronto
Florida