Canadiens vs. Penguins Recap: Novak Wins It in OT After Wild Comeback

The Penguins beat the Canadiens 6-5 in overtime on Saturday night, and it took a wild finish to get there. Pittsburgh scored five straight goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 lead, then watched Montreal answer with four in a row, including two goals 24 seconds apart late in the 3rd to tie it 5-5. Tommy Novak ended it 1:33 into overtime. Pittsburgh outshot Montreal 30-25 and went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Montreal went 0-for-2. Neither goalie had an easy night: Jakub Dobes made 24 saves on 30 shots and Arturs Silovs made 20 saves on 25 shots, both at .800. Four DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Nick Suzuki 1+ points (-255 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Suzuki had a point in 63 of 82 games last season, with 101 points, and Pittsburgh allowed 3.27 goals a game last season. We liked his scoring rate against a defense that allowed plenty of goals. - What happened: Suzuki finished with 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 shots on goal and a +4 in 22:43, including 2:56 on the power play. That is 4 points, 3.5 over the line. He had this one by 3:49 of the 1st with the primary assist on the opening goal, then scored on a backhand at 18:46 of the 2nd and assisted on both late goals that tied it in the 3rd. - Worth watching: He was in on four of Montreal's five goals and played over 22 minutes with steady power-play time. The price is steep at -255, so the angle only works near that number or better.

Cole Caufield 1+ points (-165 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Caufield had a point in 56 of 81 games last season and finished with 88 points. - What happened: Caufield scored twice on wrist shots, opening the scoring at 3:49 of the 1st and cutting it to 5-3 at 3:31 of the 3rd. That is 2 points, 1.5 over the line, in 22:50 with 2:56 on the power play. - Worth watching: He matched Suzuki's 2:56 of power-play time and played nearly 23 minutes. At -165 against -255 for Suzuki, he was the cheaper way into the same scoring.

Evgeni Malkin 1+ points (-130 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Malkin had a point in 40 of 56 games last season, with 61 points. With Bryan Rust on IR, we expected Malkin to keep a top-six and power-play role. This was a longer shot that landed. - What happened: Malkin had 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points, 2.5 over the line, in 19:41 with 2:05 on the power play. He scored the power-play goal at 14:07 of the 1st that tied it 1-1, assisted on Novak's goal at 14:01 of the 2nd, and set up Novak's overtime winner. - Worth watching: He got 19:41 and 2:05 of power-play time, in line with the role we expected. At -130, that role is worth a look again while it lasts.

Cole Caufield 3+ shots on goal (-145 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Caufield scored 51 goals last season and had 3+ shots in 53 of 81 games, averaging 3.19 a game. He had 3 in the opener at Toronto. Another longer shot that landed. - What happened: Caufield put exactly 3 shots on goal, 0.5 over the line, and two of them went in. - Worth watching: This one was tight. He is a volume shooter in a big role, but on a night when Montreal managed only 25 shots as a team, the margin was thin. Shot volume is the thing to track.

How the game played out

The 2nd period swung it for Pittsburgh. Declan Carlile scored 32 seconds in, then Samuel Girard, Novak and Ben Kindel followed, with Kindel's tip-in coming on the power play at 15:32. Suzuki's goal at 18:46 started the comeback, Caufield added one early in the 3rd, and Chris Kreider and Ivan Demidov scored at 18:52 and 19:16 to force overtime. Novak, with assists from Malkin and Kris Letang, finished it.

Trends to watch

• Suzuki and Caufield each logged over 22 minutes with 2:56 on the power play. Montreal's offense runs through that pair, and Lane Hutson had 3 assists on the back end.
• Pittsburgh's special teams were the difference early: 2 power-play goals on 4 chances against 0 on 2 for Montreal.
• Goaltending was loose on both sides, with 11 goals and both starters at .800. Montreal also outhit Pittsburgh 28-9 while Pittsburgh blocked 20 shots.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. For more, see our NHL hub, the NHL recaps archive, and our explainer on the player prop.