The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Utah Mammoth 5-4 in overtime in a back-and-forth affair. Montreal rallied from behind on multiple occasions before Cole Caufield sealed the win in overtime. Period-by-period scoring read 2-2, 0-1, 2-1, and 1-0 in overtime in favour of the Canadiens.
Logan Cooley dominates the first period
Utah came out of the gate stronger. Logan Cooley struck early and added a second goal shortly after in the opening period, with Nick Schmaltz and Mikhail Sergachev picking up assists on the latter. Cooley made his offensive presence felt immediately, recording his second hat trick in seven days — he had already scored three goals against Pittsburgh previously.
Montreal answered back before the period was out, however. Nick Suzuki pulled one back with assists from Juraj Slafkovský and Noah Dobson. Suzuki, returning from an injury absence, contributed a point straight away. Arber Xhekaj then levelled with a slap shot from the blue line, set up by Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. Xhekaj's shot was clocked at 97.22 mph, registering as the hardest goal-scoring shot of the 2026-27 season.
Utah assert control in the middle frame
Utah regained the lead in the second period. Logan Cooley completed his hat trick on the power play, with Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller collecting the assists. Sebastian Cossa was solid in net for the Mammoth, earning his fourth win in five starts this season — a record that underlined Utah's reliable goaltending, even as Montreal threatened to turn the game around.
Montreal force overtime
Kirby Dach restored parity at the start of the third period, converting a power play set up by Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson. Utah hit back through Nick Schmaltz, who re-established the lead with assists from Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
Montreal refused to fold. Arber Engstrom levelled once more, assisted by Jake Evans and Noah Dobson. The Canadiens had squandered a 4-0 lead against Winnipeg just two days earlier and gone on to lose in overtime. Against Utah, they showed greater resilience in the closing stages and forced overtime.
Caufield delivers the decisive moment
The overtime winner came quickly. Cole Caufield scored approximately 30 seconds into the extra period, burying the overtime winner off assists from Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki to make it 5-4. Caufield once again delivered in the clutch, living up to his reputation as Montreal's overtime specialist. It was a hard-fought victory for the Canadiens against a Utah side that had controlled much of the game thanks to Logan Cooley's hat trick.
