Caufield scores in OT, Canadiens top Red Wings to end 4-game skid

DETROIT -- Cole Caufield scored a power-play goal at 4:16 of overtime, and the Montreal Canadiens ended a four-game skid with a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

Caufield won it when he sent a wrist shot past James Reimer from the left face-off circle. It was his fifth goal of the season, including three in overtime.

“I like being in that situation,” Caufield said. “Obviously, you want to finish games in regulation, but you have to play the game that’s in front of you, and I’m proud of the way we handle it.”

Mike Matheson had a goal and two assists, and Sean Monahan extended his point streak to seven games for the Canadiens (6-5-2), who were 0-3-1 during the skid. Cayden Primeau made 27 saves.

“I’m really happy with the way our team handled that game,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We had the lead twice, they tied it twice and we kept playing.”

Christian Fischer and J.T. Compher scored for the Red Wings (7-5-2), who are 2-4-2 since a 5-1-0 start. Reimer made 23 saves.

“I thought we had a ton of confidence in our first five or six games -- everything was going in the net, and everyone was feeling good,” Detroit defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “Then, we lost that feeling. When you lose that confidence, you start thinking about how to get it back instead of just playing.”

Matherson gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 7:02 of the first period when he took a pass from Alex Newhook and scored from the high slot.

Monahan appeared to score a power-play goal at 12:01, but the Red Wings successfully challenged Caufield entered the zone offside.

Fischer then knocked in a rebound at 16:44 for his first goal with Detroit to tie it 1-1.

“That was just a classic forecheck goal,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “Fischer’s standing in the hard area, and maybe we got a little fortunate because it probably went off his hand, but I thought it was the right call.”

Nick Suzuki put the Canadiens back in front 2-1 with a power-play goal 26 seconds into the third period for his fifth of the season. Monahan had the secondary assist to extend his point streak (four goals, three assists).

Compher tied it 2-2 at 6:06, sending a wrist shot over Primeau’s right shoulder.

Reimer stopped Suzuki on an overtime breakaway, but was called for a penalty at 3:27 after holding Caufield’s stick.

“He grabbed my stick, and I didn’t really know what to do,” Caufield said. “I was just hoping I’d get a call, and it worked out.”

It was Primeau’s first NHL win since a 3-2 shootout victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 16, 2021. He was making his first NHL start in Detroit, where his father, Keith, played the first 363 games of his 909-game NHL career with the Red Wings.

“I know I can play at this level, so I’m just trying to be ready when my name is called,” said Primeau, who started his second game of the season. “I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. But I just have to stay focused.”

NOTES: Caufield is the eighth Canadiens player with three overtime goals in the same season; Alex Galchenyuk holds their record with five in 2016-17. … Matheson led all skaters with 27:56 of ice time. … The Red Wings held Sweden Night in advance of the 2023 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, where they will play the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 16 and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 17. Goal and penalty announcements were made in Swedish, and the scoreboard was colored yellow and blue.