Petry scores at 14 seconds, Canadiens defeat Stars in overtime

DALLAS -- Jeff Petry scored 14 seconds into overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Monday.

Phillip Danault scored twice, and Antti Niemi made a season-high 45 saves for the Canadiens (21-14-5), who finished their longest road trip of the season 4-2-0.
Radek Faksa and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars (20-16-4), who have five points in their past three games (2-0-1). Ben Bishop made 35 saves.
WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Stars highlights]
It was the first goal by either Benn or Tyler Seguin in two games after Dallas CEO Jim Lites made comments critical of their offensive production on Friday.

Petry got past Seguin at the Dallas blue line, which created a 2-on-1 with Paul Byron. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen committed to Byron, who passed to Petry and he chipped the puck over the left shoulder of a sliding Bishop.
Max Domi won the face-off to start overtime, and Montreal held possession for all 14 seconds.
"Anytime you can get possession in overtime is big," said Petry, who scored his first NHL overtime goal.

Byron said, "I saw him out of the corner of my eye and I just tried to put it in there for him. He found a way to get it upstairs. We had some trouble tonight getting some shots up high on Bishop."
Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said, "I don't think Miro knew it was a 2-on-1; I think he thought it was a 2-on-2. That's why he went and pressured Byron."
The two goals are fewest allowed by Niemi this season in 11 starts. He has started the past three games in the absence of Carey Price, who is out with a lower-body injury. Niemi allowed six or more goals in three of his previous five starts, including the 6-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday after Montreal led 5-4 going into the third period.

"After a tough game in Tampa I felt like I had to settle down a bit," Niemi said. "Be more patient. More calm. I think I was able to get there."
Niemi had not made consecutive starts since Feb. 29-March 1, 2016, when he played for the Stars. He said it was extra incentive to play well against his former team.
Danault has five goals in his past four games after scoring twice in the first 36 games of the season.
"I think I'm taking more of the middle," Danault said. "Taking more speed and confidence. Sometimes when you score goals it helps you with your confidence."
Danault flipped a wrist shot in off Bishop's knee off a backhand pass from behind the net by Brett Kulak at 16:35 of the first period to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.

Faksa tied it 1-1 at 3:02 of the second period, taking a touch pass from Valeri Nichushkin and sending a wrist shot from the left circle to the far post. Faksa has a three-game point streak (one goal, three assists).
Benn put the Stars ahead 2-1 on the power play at 16:34 with his older brother, Canadiens defenseman Jordie Benn, serving a hooking penalty. The goal came on a rebound in the crease off a shot from the right circle by Seguin.
Danault tied the score at 2-2 at 9:17 of the third period with a wraparound between the post and Bishop's left skate following a shot by Shea Weber that went over the net.

They said it

"I said it this morning, players were behind him, we're behind him, and we know that he's a character player. He was going to bounce back." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien on goalie Antti Niemi
"We will play like that every game, we will give our team a chance to win every night. Just didn't execute the chances we had." -- Stars forward Radek Faksa

Need to know

Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw played two shifts during the first seven minutes and didn't return because of an upper-body injury. … Stars forward Tyler Pitlick was a late healthy scratch, his wife having gone into labor. Pitlick scored in the three previous games for the first time in his five NHL seasons. … Dallas is 12-6-2 since it started hosting games on New Year's Eve in 1997. … Price missed the second half of the road trip after winning two of the first three games and allowing six goals. Julien said Price remains day to day. "We'll have a lot more information when we get back," Julien said. "But for now, from what I've been told is things are going in the right direction."

What's next

Canadiens: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, SNP, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-SW+, MSG+, NHL.TV)