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

By Canadian Press on April 14, 2025.

MONTREAL (AP) — 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

Blackhawks: Trailing 2-0, Chicago scored twice on the power play to tie the score. Bertuzzi struck first with 80 seconds left in the first period before Nazar beat Montembeault with a one-time at 16:41 of the second.

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).

Up next

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

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

The Associated Press