National Hockey League
Montreal 6, Ottawa 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees: Francois St. Laurent, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Ryan Gibbons
Attendance: 21105

Nick Suzuki's tiebreaker with 4:37 remaining in regulation highlighted a five-goal third period for the Montreal Canadiens, who cooled off the visiting Ottawa Senators with a 6-3 victory on Tuesday night.

Lane Hutson and Josh Anderson scored tying goals in the third, before Suzuki was in the right spot amid a net-front scrum to break a 3-3 tie with his 18th point in 11 games.

Brendan Gallagher, who had two assists, and Anderson added empty-net goals for the Canadiens (33-27-7, 73 points), who are in the mix for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference while amid an 8-1-2 stretch and winners of five straight at home.

Christian Dvorak had a goal with three assists for Montreal, which has won the first three meetings this season against the Senators (36-26-5, 77 points).

Veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic had a goal with an assist for Ottawa, which had won six in a row.

Montreal led 1-0 just 2:07 into the contest. Via some lengthy passing from David Savard and Gallagher, Dvorak found himself on a breakaway, when he went backhand-forehand to beat Ottawa's Linus Ullmark (27 saves), who was without his stick on the play.

Ottawa tied things with 3:18 left in the first. Off an own-zone face-off, Drake Batherson got the puck and skated to the Canadiens' end, where after surveying his options, sent a blistering snap shot by Sam Montembeault (22 saves).

The Senators then went ahead with 7:22 remaining in the second period. After Harmonic's shot, Michael Amadio crashed the net and got enough of his stick to flip the puck in.

At 3:38 into the third, standout rookie Hutson got the puck off the draw, made a move, glided into the circle and rang the post over Ullmark's glove.

Less than three minutes later, though, the 34-year-old Hamonic, whose most-recent goal came on Dec. 15, 2023, ripped a slap shot that Montembeault appeared to whiff on the save attempt for a 3-2 Ottawa lead.

But with 9:38 remaining in regulation, Montreal's Alexandre Carrier sent the puck toward the net, where it made contact with Anderson, who then chipped it past Ullmark for 3-3.

Suzuki, Anderson and Gallagher accounted for the scoring the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Montreal
Travis Hamonic 2 Points Christian Dvorak 4
Travis Hamonic 1 Goals Josh Anderson 2
Travis Hamonic 1 Assists Christian Dvorak 3
N/A Power Play Goals Nick Suzuki 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Linus Ullmark .871 Save Percentage Sam Montembeault .880
Linus Ullmark 27 Saves Sam Montembeault 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 25 3 0-3 3-4 8 37
Montreal 33 6 1-4 3-3 6 23
Upcoming Games
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .486 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Senators have a W/L % of .595 after a win and .467 after a loss.