Lane Hutson scored with 1:20 left in overtime to secure a 4-3 win for the Montreal Canadiens against the Dallas Stars on Sunday at American Airlines Center. The victory marked the Stars' fifth straight loss and extended Montreal's strong road performance. Phillip Danault recorded his 400th career point in the game.
The Montreal Canadiens overcame a late tie to defeat the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime on January 4, 2026, at American Airlines Center in Dallas. This win came on the second night of a back-to-back for Montreal, following a 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues the previous day, and capped a five-game holiday road trip.
Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring at 8:42 of the first period, deflecting a shot from Alexandre Carrier for a 1-0 lead, assisted by Danault. Mavrik Bourque tied it 1-1 at 13:53 with a wraparound goal. In the second period, Wyatt Johnston gave Dallas a 2-1 edge at 10:14 on a power-play expiration shot from the slot, assisted by Mikko Rantanen and Scott Harley. Oliver Kapanen equalized at 11:59 with a one-timer from the left circle, assisted by Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky. Slafkovsky then put Montreal ahead 3-2 at 18:39 on a power-play goal from the slot, with assists from Nick Suzuki and Hutson.
Johnston tied the game 3-3 at 11:07 of the third period with a shot from the left circle. After a key save by Sam Montembeault on Johnston's breakaway, Danault won a crucial faceoff in overtime, setting up Hutson's wrist shot from the right circle at 3:40 for the winner. Montembeault made 24 saves, while Jake Oettinger stopped 25 for Dallas.
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis praised his team's competitiveness: "We feel we have the brand right now and a group that can compete with anybody." Stars forward Johnston, who scored twice, noted the challenge: "Every goalie in the League is a great goalie, so it’s not easy to score on anyone." The Canadiens improved to 23-13-6 with their 13th comeback win of the season, while Dallas fell to 25-9-8 amid a five-game skid (0-2-3). Danault's two assists marked his 400th and 401st career points since rejoining Montreal on December 19. Hutson, at 21 years and 324 days, became the third-youngest Canadiens defenseman to score an overtime goal.
