Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) stops a shot by Boston Bruins' Charlie McAvoy (73) during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

By The Canadian Press

Caufield’s 40th of season the winner as Canadiens top Bruins 3-2 in overtime

Mar 17, 2026 | 7:56 PM

MONTREAL — Cole Caufield scored the winner with 22 seconds remaining in overtime as the Montreal Canadiens edged the Boston Bruins 3-2 in an evenly matched rivalry matchup Tuesday night.

Caufield tapped a pass from Nick Suzuki into the back of the net for his 40th of the season, becoming the first Canadien to reach the mark since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94.

Suzuki and Josh Anderson also scored while Jakub Dobes made 26 saves for Montreal (37-20-10), which snapped a two-game losing skid.

Brendan Gallagher picked up an assist in his 900th NHL game, all for Montreal.

Pavel Zacha had both goals for Boston (37-23-8), which lost 4-3 in overtime Monday at New Jersey.

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Jeremy Swayman stopped 28 shots.

The Canadiens sat third in the Atlantic Division and one point ahead of the Bruins — with one game in hand — heading into Tuesday’s games.

Zacha opened the scoring on the power play 2:22 into the first period when he shovelled home a backhand after Alexandre Carrier’s double-minor for high-sticking put the Canadiens on a four-minute penalty kill.

Suzuki replied at 10:30, casually deking to his backhand following a net-front pass from Juraj Slafkovsky to beat Swayman and tie the game.

Five minutes into the second period, Zacha tipped Viktor Arvidsson’s pass for his second of the night after defensive-zone confusion between Montreal’s Lane Hutson and Oliver Kapanen left the Bruins centre all alone in front of the net. Anderson evened the score again at 13:15 in the second with a deflection on Hutson’s point shot.

TAKEAWAYS

Canadiens: Gallagher became the 13th player in franchise history to reach 900 games with the Canadiens. The milestone came three days after the 33-year-old from Edmonton was a healthy scratch for the first time since his first NHL game in January 2013.

Bruins: Star winger David Pastrnak extended his point streak against Montreal to 14 games, tying Bobby Orr for the longest by a Bruins player against the Canadiens.

KEY MOMENT

Dobes stretched out for a blocker save to rob Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy from the slot midway through the third period as “Do-by! Do-by!” chants ensued inside the Bell Centre.

Montreal nearly jumped ahead with three minutes remaining in regulation when Swayman slid out of his net to challenge Caufield. Suzuki and Kaiden Guhle followed with opportunities but couldn’t finish through a pile of bodies in front of the goal.

KEY STAT

The Canadiens, who went 0-for-1 on the night, are now scoreless in their last nine power plays.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Canadiens: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press