5 takeaways from the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 overtime win over the Mammoth

The Montreal Canadiens faced a pivotal game on Thursday night against the Utah Mammoth. They entered this game with their historic loss, blowing a 4-0 lead with about three minutes left in the third period to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday still fresh in their mind.

However, they were getting some extra help on Thursday night as Nick Suzuki would make his return after missing six games due to an injury. It was the first time in his NHL career that he would miss a game, but he wasted no time making an impact with one goal and two assists in their 5-4 overtime win.

The Canadiens had to overcome a hat trick by Utah's Logan Cooley. However, it was a collective team effort to pull out the win, and these are five takeaways from the game.

Montreal Canadiens come out flat against the Utah Mammoth

One of the big questions entering this game was whether or not the historic collapse to the Winnipeg Jets would carry over. Martin St. Louis talked a lot after the Jets' game about how they had to be mentally tough and put that game behind them.

Early against the Utah Mammoth, the Canadiens certainly didn't look like a team that was ready to compete or had put the Jets' game behind them. Utah would jump out to an early 2-0 lead and the Canadiens didn't register their first shot on goal until eight minutes into the game.

The good news was that they did fight back and scored twice to tie it up before the end of the opening period. However, the slow start certainly didn't help and it felt like Montreal was trying to play catch up with Utah all night.

Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach score in their returns to the lineup

The Montreal Canadiens got their captain back after he missed the last six games due to an upper-body injury. He immediately returned to his spot on the top line and made an immediate impact as he scored the Canadiens' first goal and helped them cut into the Mammoth's two-goal lead early in the first period.

Suzuki's goal came off a beautiful pass by Juraj Slafkovsky, who found him hanging out far post, and all Suzuki had to do was tap it in.

Then in the third period, Suzuki would add an assist to his season total as Kirby Dach would score the power-play goal to tie the game at three. Dach had missed the past two games due to an injury, and would be his first goal of the season.

The Canadiens' captain though wasn't done there as he would have the assist on Cole Caufield's game winner in overtime to give him three points on the night.

Penalty kill becoming a concern for the Montreal Canadiens

The Utah Mammoth almost won this game because of special teams, as they would score three power-play goals. They were able to capitalize on a Canadiens penalty kill that has struggled as of late.

After killing 17 of 19 power play opportunities over four games, the Canadiens have now allowed at least one power play goal in four straight games, and they have a penalty kill percentage of only 62.5%.

There is no question that some of the penalties called against the Montreal Canadiens were questionable. The tripping call on Chris Kreider immediately comes to mind, but the Canadiens can't blame the refs for allowing as many power-play goals as they did.

Adam Engstrom with his first career NHL goal when Canadiens need it most

The Montreal Canadiens were trailing in the third period after Nick Schmaltz scored on the power play to take a 4-3 lead. The Canadiens needed someone to make a play to tie it up, and Adam Engstrom rose to the occasion with his first career NHL goal.

On the play, Jake Evans carried the puck into the zone and stopped to find a trailing Engstrom. He passed it back, Engstrom made one defender miss and put a shot on net. Kirby Dach was in perfect position to screen Sebastian Cossa and the Mammoth goalie had no chance of stopping Engstrom's shot.

Engstrom was appearing in his 10th game of the season as he has been the primary replacement with all the injuries the Canadiens have dealt with on their blueline. He is still going through some growing pains but if he can make more plays like he did against Utah, Engstrom has a chance to carve out a more permanent role with the Canadiens.

Montreal Canadiens don't lead until it matters most

The Montreal Canadiens would not lead once in this game until Cole Caufield scored the game-winner in overtime. It didn't take long for Caufield to get the two points for Montreal, as he would score just 30 seconds into the extra period.

The Canadiens were certainly tested in this game, and they had to continue to fight back, as every time they tied it up, it was the Mammoth that would score next and take the lead back. This is the type of game that can put a game like they had against the Winnipeg Jets behind them. They will look to keep this momentum going on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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