Tyler Seguin scored twice as the Stars held off the Canadiens for a 3-2 win

MONTREAL — Matt Duchene didn't reveal the Dallas Stars' strategy Saturday afternoon.

He didn't need to.

It was as clear as day that Tyler Seguin scored twice off assists from Duchene in Dallas' 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

“We had a game plan. “I'm not going to say what it is, but we knew what was open,” Duchene said. “Every system has its weaknesses.”

Thomas Harley also scored for Dallas (32-14-6), and Mason Marchment chipped in with two assists. Jake Ottinger made 18 saves in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Central Division-leading All-Stars, who have won 10 of their last 14 games, finished their post-All-Star weekend road trip with a 2-1-0 record.

“We knew tonight, at the end of the trip, it was either going to be a good trip or a bad trip,” Dallas head coach Pete DeBoer said. “So there was a bit of desperation in our game and I think that and some of the areas where we had success.”

Nick Suzuki — with a goal and an assist — and Juraj Slafkowski answered for Montreal (21-22-8), while Mike Matheson had two assists.

Cole Caufield joined Max Domi (2018-19) and Pierre Turgeon (1994-95) as the only Canadians in the last 30 years to extend his point streak to a career-high 11 games with an assist on Suzuki's goal.

Sam Montembo stopped 35 shots in his second start.

“We came out of the gate very well,” Montembo said. “I think they were probably better in the second one, it's a veteran team, they work hard.”

Canadiens forward Alex Newhook played his first game since Nov. 30 because of a sore foot. The 23-year-old had three hits and one sack while centering Montreal's third line.

After a scoreless first period, Montreal opened the scoring 38 seconds into the second when Caufield's perfectly timed bank pass sent Suzuki on a breakaway and fired a shot over captain Ettinger's right shoulder.

A few minutes later, the Canadians had 35 seconds to forget.

Raphael Harvey-Pinard collided with teammate Joel Armia in the neutral zone and appeared to lacerate his right leg in the process.

As Harvey-Pinard struggled to get off the ice and into the locker room, Hurley beat Montembo for his 13th of the season to tie the game at 3:51. The Stars took the lead 24 seconds later as an unmarked Seguin ended Duchene's layup.

“We took it right away,” Duchene said of Montreal's first goal. “This team is never too high or too low, and that was another example of that, they score, we're going to hit straight away.

“I think we took over from there.”

Montembo kept the Canadiens in the game as the Stars dominated in shots 21-7 in the period.

Seguin, however, doubled Dallas' lead with 2:15 left before another Duchene layup.

Slafkowski pulled one back a minute later and scored his 10th of the season from a sharp angle in the third game. The 2022 first overall pick has 16 points in his last 22 games after a rough start to the season.

“Slaf, for me, it's been a steady progression,” Canadiens coach Martin Saint said. “We are very pleased with his progress, we are not surprised, he is working very hard for this.”

In the third period, Jake Evans committed a double-minor penalty, sending Dallas on a four-minute power play with six minutes left in the game.

However, the Canadians had most of their A-grade chances on the penalty kill. Matheson hit the back post and Arma had a lone shot but fired the ball over the bar.

Despite going 0-for-6 on the power play, the Stars rallied to win.

“I think if we could have found a way to get a power play goal, we might have put them away earlier than we did until the end like we did,” DeBoer said.

ROY recalled

The Canadiens recalled forward Joshua Roy from American Hockey League affiliate Laval after Harvey-Pinard left the game with a lower-body injury and did not return. The club said Harvey-Pinard will undergo further testing.

Roy, 20, has played in six NHL games this season, recording one goal and one assist. The St. Georges-De-Bos, Que., native has 13 goals and 19 assists in 40 AHL appearances.

NEXT UP

Canadiens: Jake Allen hosts the Montreal St. Louis Blues in Game 2 on Sunday.

Stars: Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 10, 2024.

Daniel Rainbird, Canadian Press