Hoffman gives Canadiens OT victory against Penguins

MONTREAL -- Mike Hoffman scored 1:03 into overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Hoffman shot stick side on Tristan Jarry after receiving a pass from Kirby Dach on a 2-on-1 for his fourth goal in three games.
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, and Jake Allen made 20 saves for Montreal (8-6-1), which has won three straight for the first time this season.
"I think everyone's chipping in and buying in, we're playing the right way," Hoffman said. "We're having fun with each other, working hard, and the chemistry is great on the ice and great off the ice as well."

Jeff Petry and Rickard Rakell each had a goal and an assist, Jason Zucker had three assists, and Jarry made 37 saves for Pittsburgh (6-6-3), which finished its road trip 2-0-1.
"Anytime you get five out of six points out of three games on the road, I think most coaches would probably take that," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "But when it's there for you to get six, it's a little bit disappointing. We knew it was going to be a tough game for us coming into it. Just logistically, it's one of those games where you know it's going to be a tough one, and give Montreal credit, they played really well."
Cole Caufield scored 49 seconds into the third period to tie it 2-2 when his wrist shot from the left point went in off Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson's glove.
Evgeni Malkin put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 at 3:19 before Suzuki tied it 3-3 at 4:09.
Brock McGinn scored at 3-on-3 to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead at 14:02, but Sean Monahan again tied it 4-4 with a power-play goal at 14:42.
"No one got down on themselves, it was just to stick with the plan and keep fighting," Hoffman said. "And you know, we bounced back a few times tonight and that just shows the character that this group is starting to have, and it's a good thing to be a part of."

Josh Anderson gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 1:48 of the first period. He curled into the slot at the blue line and scored on a low wrist shot in his return from a two-game suspension.
"We're managing the puck really well," said Suzuki, the Canadiens captain. "It's something we struggled with a lot last year."
Limited to four shots in the first period, the Penguins scored on their first and third shots in the second to take a 2-1 lead.
Petry tied it 1-1 on a power play at 1:46. The former Canadiens defenseman's pass attempt from the right corner deflected into the net off Montreal forward Jake Evans' stick.
Rakell put Pittsburgh up 2-1 at 3:29 when he deflected Pettersson's slap shot over Allen's glove.
"Obviously we got some timely goals and that helped us, but I think we were in the [defensive] zone a lot tonight," Jarry said. "They were putting a lot of pressure on us, they were getting pucks down low and putting pucks to the net, and I think timely goals kept us in the game, and ultimately we want to be on the other side of it."

NOTES:Penguins forward Jake Guentzel had his four-game goal streak end (four goals). … Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin earned his 100th NHL assist. … Suzuki had his third straight multipoint game at home and has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in the past seven games. It is the fifth time Suzuki and Caufield have scored in the same game this season, second among NHL teammates behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (seven). … Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky served the second game of his two-game suspension for boarding Matt Luff of the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.