MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 17: Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal against of the St. Louis Blues in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 17, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

After a loss to the Detroit Red Wings during their home opener, the Montreal Canadiens received their first win in regulation against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday in what was their best game so far this season.

The Montreal Canadians played host to the St. Louis in Saturday night in hopes of improving on their 1-1-2 record with some minor lineup changes. Brett Kulak was placed aside Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot was moved down to third pairing next to Christian Folin.

Nick Suzuki was playing on the fourth line with Paul Byron and Nate Thompson while Jordan Weal earned a promotion onto the second line with Artturi Lehkonen and Max Domi.

First Period

During the first period, the Montreal Canadiens showed off an exceptional penalty killing unit compared to previous games. Hopefully they continue trending upwards in this area of their game.

The Canadiens also received the first powerplay of the night, a powerplay unit that has scored at least once in every game of the season so far however they missed out on this chance.

The Habs played a solid game on both sides of the ice and at the 7:01 Tomas Tatar scored his second goal of the season off the faceoff to give the Habs a 1-0 lead.

At 5:19, remaining Victor Mete drew a penalty giving the Canadiens their second powerplay but struggled to get it into the offensive zone and went 0-2 on the night so far.

Brayden Schenn then scored for the Blues on a rocket of a shot tying the game 1-1 but Jonathan Drouin quickly responded by giving the Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 lead on beauty of a goal that he made look effortless to conclude the first period.

Second Period

St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais (from Jay Bouwmeester) tied up the game 2-2 at 18:55 to start the period. Not Carey Price’s best moment.

The Canadiens looked rather disjointed after the Blues tying goal but the Canadiens were granted a powerplay, hoping to get the lead back. While they managed to stay in the zone for most of the powerplay, the Habs only had two significant scoring opportunities.

This shouldn’t take away from the fact that the powerplay has been better so far this year. Although the hope is it isn’t an anomaly. It would help if they could build on their possession numbers by executing on plays quicker.

The penalty kill faltered nearing the end of the second period when Vince Dunn was quickly set up by Schenn and Tarasenko giving the Blues a 3-2 lead. Philip Danault responded by registering his second goal of the year and first career point against the St. Louis Blues bringing the game back to a tied score of 3-3. Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher had the assists.

Third Period

With the Canadiens and Blues going into the third period tied at 3-3, the Habs had a chance to get the win in and put their last two losses in the past. The Habs came out firing out of the gate but Jordan Binnington was repeatedly shutting them down.

A costly mistake was made by the Habs at 13:30 remaining in the period during a line change that almost led to a goal against but Max Domi was able to get the puck out of their zone.

At 12:29, Artturri Lehkonen scored his first of the season on a wraparound giving the Habs a 4-3 lead after several chances on Jordan Binnington. Jeff Petry assisted on the goal.

With 8:04 remaining in the third period, Brendan Gallagher gave the Habs a comforting 5-3 lead (assisted by Domi and Mete) but considering the opponent, the Habs had to keep the pressure up. This was also three-point night for Brendan Gallagher. The eighth in his career, as per the Sportsnet broadcasting team.

At 5:30, Joël Armia was tripped and given a penalty shot but was stopped by Jordan Binnington. Fortunately, the Canadiens held onto their lead and upon Jordan Binnington heading to the bench, Max Domi scored on the empty net giving the Habs their final score of 6-3.

Looking Ahead

This was an important game for the Habs. Their defensive issues cost them in their first four games and it looked like they tightened up with the re-addition of Brett Kulak. T

The forwards also played a strong game as well with Max Domi finding his stride after a relatively quiet first few games. Hopefully they can build off this win.

The Montreal Canadiens will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, October 15th.