Canadiens nip Blackhawks 4-3 in OT

The Canadiens' Guillaume Latendresse beat Blackhawks goaltender Patrick Lalime 3:18 into overtime to lift Montreal to  a 4-3 victory over Chicago. Watch highlights from the Canadiens 4-3 win

The Montreal Canadiens have struggled badly at home this season — especially when the game goes longer than three periods.
   
But a new year is delivering new results.
   
Guillaume Latendresse scored 3:18 into overtime on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, as the Canadiens improved to 1-5 in non-regulation games in Montreal with a 4-3 victory over the skidding Chicago Blackhawks.
   
The goal came on a pass from his pal, Maxim Lapierre, who sent the puck across to Latendresse for the game-winner. It was Latendresse’s 12th of the season.

"It was important for us to get the two points," said Latendresse, a Montreal native who scored his first career overtime goal. "Lapierre is my best friend on the team, and we got the chance to score (together) in overtime. I went to the net and I thought he was going to shoot, but he made a real nice pass."

The loss was Chicago’s sixth straight, including two in overtime. It put a damper on what was an otherwise-special night for Blackhawks coach Denis Savard, who took part in a pre-game ceremony that celebrated this “Original Six” rivalry that is 82 years old.

''I'm always proud to return to Montreal,'' said Savard, who was a member of the Canadiens' last Stanley Cup-winning team in 1993. ''For those who were born here and have been a part of the Canadiens’ family, it's special. It was a fun game. Unfortunately, we only got one point.''
   

Saku Koivu gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 4:22 into the game ( 700K ). Latendresse stole the puck from rookie Patrick Kane and fed Koivu. The Canadiens’ captain put a backhander past Blackhawks goalie Patrick Lalime for his eighth goal of the season.
   

"That was pretty much all about his effort on the forecheck," Koivu said of Latendresse. "He got the puck in the corner and saw me in the high slot and made a great play."
   
Jack Skille, another Chicago rookie, tied things up with his first NHL goal at 5:46 of the first ( 700K ), but Patrice Brisebois restored Montreal’s lead by scoring a power-play goal with 2:47 to go in the opening period ( 700K ) when he stuffed a rebound past Lalime. The goal came less than eight minutes after Lalime had denied Mark Streit on a penalty shot.
   
"I'm just excited about it," Skille said of goal No. 1. "I'm happy to get it off my back and I just hope my parents saw it."
   
The Blackhawks went up 3-2 in the second period , as Robert Lang scored at 2:27 ( 700K ) and rookie Kris Versteeg beat Cristobal Huet 18 seconds later ( 700K ). But Andrei Markov – who was named a starter for the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game on Jan. 27 – tied the game at 3-3 with a power-play goal less than six minutes later ( 700K ). It was Markov’s 11th goal of the season.
   
The game remained tied until Latendresse won it

"It's not what we wanted — we wanted a win," said Chicago's Duncan Keith. "It's frustrating, but with a young team like ours, at least we got a point after four straight (regulation) losses. They have a lot of skill up front, and sometimes we may have sat back a bit.”
There was a scary moment late in the third period when linesman Pierre Champoux was struck in the right eye on a dump-in attempt by Montreal’s Francis Bouillon. He did not return to the game and will have X-rays performed on Wednesday.

"I guess it was coming in faster than I thought," said Champoux, who had a three-inch vertical gash.