Nazar scores in shootout to give Blackhawks 4-3 win over Canadies

MONTREAL — Frank Nazar scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Montreal 4-3 on Monday night, spoiling Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov's NHL debut.

Nazar had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Bertuzzi and Lukas Reichel also scored in regulation as Chicago rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead. Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.

Demidov had a goal and an assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky and Alex Newhook also scored for the Canadiens, who lost their third straight with a chance to clinch a playoff spot. Sam Montembeault finished with 22 saves.

The Canadiens have 89 points — four more than Columbus with one game remaining Wednesday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blue Jackets have two games left.

In the tiebreaker, officials initially ruled Nazar's attempt a no-goal before overturning the call after Montreal's next shooter made his attempt.

Slafkovsky tied the score on the power play with 2:57 left in regulation. Lane Hutson had an assist on the play, giving him 65 points on the season to pass Chris Chelios for most by a rookie defenseman in franchihse history.

Takeaways

Canadiens: Montreal was hemmed in its own zone during a dismal second period, where Chicago could have taken a lead if not for Montembeault bailing the Canadiens out with multiple big stops.

Key moment

Canadiens fans gave Demidov a deafening ovation after he set up Newhook's opening goal. The youngster sat on Montreal's bench, mouthed a couple of words and cracked a big smile while public address announcer Michel Lacroix announced the goal amid the Bell Centre bedlam.

Key stat

Demidov became the third teenager in Canadiens franchise history to score a goal in his NHL debut, joining Mark Hunter (1981) and Bernie Geoffrion (1950).

Blackhawks play at Ottawa on Tuesday to finish season, and Canadiens host Carolina on Wednesday in finale.

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