Tyler Seguin scored 2 goals as the Dallas Stars beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2.

MONTREAL (AP) – Tyler Seguin scored twice and Matt Duchene had two assists as the Dallas Stars beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday.

Thomas Harley also scored as Dallas improved to 8-2-1 in its last 11 games. Mason Marchment had two assists and Jake Ottinger made 18 saves.

The Stars have taken two of three on their trip out of the All-Star break.

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

Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist for Montreal, which has won two of three. Juraj Slafkowski also scored, Mike Matheson had two assists and Cole Caufield extended his career scoring streak to 11 games.

Canadiens goaltender 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.”

Montreal forward Alex Newhook played his first game since November 30. He left the field with a sore leg.

Montreal opened the scoring 38 seconds into the second period. A perfectly timed bank pass from Caufield sent Suzuki on the break before firing a shot over captain Oettinger's right shoulder.

Then the Canadians had a rough stretch.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard appears to have injured his right leg after colliding with teammate Joel Armia in the neutral zone.

Harley beat Montembo for his 13th of the season at 3:51 when Harvey-Pinard tried to come off the ice. Seguin then made it 2-1 at 4:15, finishing Duchene's shot in front of the net.

“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.”

According to the Canadians, Harvey-Pinard left with a lower body injury.

Montembo kept his team in the game as the Stars led for most of the second. But Seguin made it 3-1 with 2:15 left before another Duchenne run.

Slafkowski pulled one back at 18:37, his 10th of the season for his third straight goal from a sharp angle. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft has 16 points in his last 22 games.

“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.”

Montreal pulled Montembo for an extra forward late in the third period, but he couldn't find the equalizer.

The Stars went 0-for-6 on the power play.

“I think if we could have found a way to get a power play goal, we might have put them away early instead of letting them hold it until the end like we did,” DeBoer said.

NEXT UP

Canadiens: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Stars: Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl