TOR@MTL: Game recap

MONTREAL - The Canadiens needed some positivity on Saturday and got just that with an inspired 3-2 overtime win against the Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

The Habs were dealt some tough news to start the day, announcing during morning skate that Cole Caufield will undergo surgery for a season-ending shoulder injury.
Alex Belzile was called up from the Laval Rocket to stand in for the star forward and made his 2022-23 Canadiens season debut.

Half the regular season schedule had elapsed since Toronto and Montreal first met in this year's opener, but the action got underway quickly on Saturday.
William Nylander sent a pass Mark Giordano's way under a minute into the game, and the latter snapped a shot past Sam Montembeault from the edge of the circle to make it 1-0 at 0:53.
Calle Jarnkrok doubled the Leafs lead before the period expired, burying a feed from Conor Timmins at 17:30 for the two-goal advantage.
Toronto outshot Montreal 15-4 in the opening 20.
But it was the Canadiens who opened the second with a quick goal, after Rem Pitlick and Nick Suzuki set up Josh Anderson to go five-hole on Ilya Samsonov at 1:46. The sequence marked Anderson's third consecutive game with a goal.

The early tally shifted momentum Montreal's way with the Habs peppering Samsonov throughout the frame until Rafael Harvey-Pinard found the equalizer at 13:35, with assists from Michael Pezzetta and Belzile.

The marker was Harvey-Pinard's first of the season and second of his NHL career.
Montreal controlled the period with a 18-8 shot advantage.
A scoreless final stanza - despite a late 4-on-3 power play for the Canadiens -- meant overtime was required to settle the latest meeting between the longtime rivals.
Pitlick scored his first career OT winner at 2:14 to complete the comeback and keep the Habs undefeated against Toronto this season.

Another Original Six matchup is up next for the Canadiens when the Boston Bruins come to town on Tuesday.