In the Habs Room: Kirby Dach stars in Windy City reboot

CHICAGO — Kirby Dach couldn’t have written a better script for his return to the Windy City.

Dach, who was back in Chicago for the first time since the off-season trade that brought him to the Canadiens, scored the winning goal in a shootout as Montreal edged the Blackhawks 3-2 in a holiday matinee at the United Center.

There were boos as Dach stepped on the ice, but he silenced the crowd when he tucked a shot inside the far post to beat Arvid Soderblom to end the game.

“I’ve heard boos, but I enjoyed the celebration,” said Dach, who cupped his right hand to his ear, then encouraged the crowd to make noise. “I’ve seen (that celebration) a few times and I did it in junior when I got booed, so I thought it was fitting.

“There’s nothing better than to come back to a place where you played and put on a show like that,” Dach said.

He was drafted third overall by the Blackhawks in 2019, but was traded to the Canadiens, who gave a first-round pick from the New York Islanders. His time in Chicago was marred by a wrist injury that required surgery and disappointing performances on the ice, but the 21-year-old Dach tried to focus on the positive aspects of the trade.

“Any time you get traded it’s a little upsetting,” he said. “But I’m happy to be in Montreal. The Canadiens really wanted me here and that’s a blessing for a player when you feel wanted.”

Dach lined up after linemates Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored and he said he appreciated coach Martin St. Louis showing confidence in him.

“He certainly showed a flair for the dramatic,” St. Louis said of Dach. “I liked his game and to have the opportunity to be that guy, to be in that position at the end, and he delivered for us.”

Suzuki, who became the first NHL player this season to go 3-for-3 in shootouts, and Joel Edmundson scored the Montreal goals in regulation with Sean Monahan picking up pair of assists. It was Edmundson’s first goal of the season, while Suzuki matched Caufield for the team lead with 12.

Sam Montembeault, who was coming off a win in Columbus on Wednesday, turned in another strong performance with 30 saves, along with a stop in the shootout.

“It feels great for the coach to give me a second start in a week,” Montembeault said. “It’s always great to play here because the music is great in the warmup and national anthems (by the incomparable Jim Cornelison) also gets you going, and of course it’s great to get two wins on the road.”

“Monty deserved to have a second shot in a row and he hasn’t had that this year, and he was sharp,” St. Louis said.

The win moved the Canadiens two games above .500 at 11-9-1 and Montembeault said the team has cleaned up many of the mistakes it made in the stretch leading up to the road trip.

Montembeault boosted his record to 5-2-1 and lowered his goals-against average to 2.48. He has the sixth-best save percentage in the NHL at .924.

Rookie Juraj Slafkovsky left the game in the third period after he was decked by a high hit from Jason Dickinson along the side boards. There was no penalty on the play, but Josh Anderson said he wouldn’t be surprised if the NHL’s department of player safety reviewed the play.

“I looked at it in slow motion and it looked like he got him in the head,” Anderson said.

Slafkovsky returned to the bench with a minute to go in regulation, but didn’t see the ice.

phickey@postmedia.com

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