Hoffman, Canadiens defeat Coyotes in OT to end 3-game skid

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Hoffman scored 1:08 into overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Monday.

Hoffman's wrist shot from the high slot eluded Karel Vejmelka to seal the victory.
"We were trying to regroup in the neutral zone and come together with speed and possession, which we did," Hoffman said. "`Dacher' (Kirby Dach) got it to me in the middle. I was thinking about passing it, but both our guys just kind of split and gave me the lane to shoot and I threw it on net."
Cole Caufield and Christian Dvorak scored for Montreal (15-15-2), which had lost three in a row. Sam Montembeault made 37 saves.
Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli scored, and Vejmelka made 23 saves for Arizona (10-15-5), which has lost three of four (1-2-1) and nine of 12 (3-6-3).
"We forced a lot of turnovers and generated a lot of [offensive zone] time, we just didn't score enough," Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun said. "It was just one of those games that's crazy. We had all the [offensive]-zone time in the world and great looks, but they were opportunistic. They didn't have nearly as many chances we did, but they capitalized."

The Canadiens are 7-2 in overtime and 10-1-2 in one-goal games, and forward Jonathan Drouin said there was a sense of confidence when overtime began.
"We have a lot of skill players, and we talk about it too," Drouin said. "We review overtime, and I think maybe that's something teams don't review as much. We have a plan, we have something we want to execute and I think tonight was textbook. We didn't let them make a change; we had fresh guys, and I think that made a difference."
Caufield scored 49 seconds into the second period to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead, their only goal in the first or second period in six games. He leads them with 19 goals.

Schmaltz tied it 1-1 at 1:24 with a one-timer of Clayton Keller's pass that deflected off Montreal forward Juraj Slafkovsky's stick.
"I thought we played pretty well," Schmaltz said. "Obviously, we would have liked to end it before overtime, because in overtime anything can happen. We played well enough to get two points, but it's a tough league to win in and sometimes you don't get rewarded."
Dvorak gave Montreal a 2-1 lead at 4:27, tipping Arber Xhekaj's wrist shot from the blue line that got past three Coyotes players stationed in front.
Maccelli's breakaway goal at 7:23 tied it 2-2. Lawson Crouse deflected Chychrun's stretch pass to the neutral zone directly onto Maccelli's stick, and Maccelli got ahead of Dvorak to score.

Hoffman said Montembeault was the difference in the game, not only because of the number of shots he faced, but the quality of his saves.
"He kept us in it right from the first period all the way through some crucial stages of the game," Hoffman said. "Kept us alive and gave us a chance to win in overtime."
The Canadiens played the first of seven consecutive road games. Coach Martin St. Louis said there was an urgency to start the trip well following a 5-1 loss at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
"I think they knew how much we needed to win," St. Louis said. "It wasn't perfect, but we found a way and hopefully it helps us get a little bit of a swagger back."
NOTES:Dvorak went to the dressing room briefly in the first period after being struck in the face by a shot from Canadiens center Nick Suzuki, but returned a few minutes later. ... Forward Anthony Richard took two shots and played 10:58 in his first game with Montreal after being recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League. He previously played two NHL games with the Nashville Predators (2018-2020). … Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury and stayed behind in Montreal. …Caufield needs one goal to join Stephane Richer and Guy Lafleur as the only Canadiens players with consecutive 20-goal seasons before age 22. … Caufield has four goals in four games against Arizona. … Montreal swept the two-game season series, also winning 6-2 on Oct. 20. … Schmaltz has five points in his past three games (one goal, four assists).