National Hockey League
Montreal 3, San Jose 2
When: 3:30 PM ET, Friday, November 24, 2023
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees: Pierre Lambert, Carter Sandlak
Linesmen: Trent Knorr, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 16897

Cole Caufield scored the tying goal and also had an assist and Jesse Ylonen scored the winner in the sixth round of the shootout as the Montreal Canadiens rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the host San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Friday afternoon.

Johnathan Kovacevic also scored and Cayden Primeau made 31 saves for Montreal, which won its second straight road game.

William Eklund had a goal and an assist for the first multi-point game of his career, Tomas Hertl had two assists and Mike Hoffman also scored for San Jose, which lost its third straight game. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 22 saves.

After Eklund and Nick Suzuki traded goals to start the shootout, Hoffman hit the post with a shot to start the third round. Ylonen then won it at the end of the sixth round when he deked Blackwood with a backhand and then put a forehand shot into an open right side of the goal for the winning score.

San Jose, coming in off a 7-1 loss at Seattle on Wednesday that head coach David Quinn called "embarrassing," took a 1-0 lead at the 5:06 mark of the second period. Hoffman received a behind-the-net pass from Eklund and roofed a wrist shot from the high slot into the top corner past Primeau's glove side. It was Hoffman's team-leading fifth goal of the season, all of which have come in the last five games.

Eklund made it 2-0 midway through the period with a power-play goal -- a one-timer from the top of the right circle into the far corner -- for his fourth goal of the season.

Montreal cut to 2-1 with 1:58 left in the period on Kovacevic's wrist shot from the right circle through traffic and into the top-left corner.

Caufield tied it up at the 3:26 mark of the third period when he finished a 2-on-1 rush by snapping a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle inside the far post for his sixth goal of the season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   San Jose
Cole Caufield 2 Points William Eklund 2
Cole Caufield 1 Goals William Eklund 1
Cole Caufield 1 Assists Tomas Hertl 2
N/A Power Play Goals William Eklund 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cayden Primeau .939 Save Percentage Mackenzie Blackwood .917
Cayden Primeau 31 Saves Mackenzie Blackwood 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 24 3 0-2 1-2 4 27
San Jose 33 2 1-2 2-2 4 21
Upcoming Games
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Sharks have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .118 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against Los Angeles. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .455 after a loss.