SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) - The Utah Hockey Club's season-long 7-game homestand is not going well.
Utah lose for the third time in four games at the Delta Center, falling to the Montreal Canadians Tuesday night, 5-3.
Kirby Dach scored twice, while Mike Matheson and Cole Caufield each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (21-18-4), who are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games. Lane Hutson had three assists, and Sam Montembeault made 22 saves.
Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller each had two assists for Utah (18-18-7), which has lost nine of its last 11 games (2-7-2). Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves.
"It's frustrating to lose in a game like that," said Nick Bjugstad, who scored his fifth goal of the season in the first period. "Especially the way we came out in the first, I thought we lost our composure a bit. There wasn't much flow with all the penalties and whatnot. But from myself and for everyone, I think we got we've got way more."
Josh Doan opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 2:11 of the first period, putting the puck in the net off a rebound from Keller.
Matheson made it 1-1 at 3:18, splitting both defensemen and beating Vejmelka five-hole for the goal.
Nick Bjugstad gave Utah a 2-1 lead at 19:06, as the forward chipped the puck over the back of Montembeault, which trickled into the back of the net.
Patrik Laine scored at 10:40 of the second period, firing a one-timer off a pass from Alex Newhook to tie the game 2-2.
Dach gave Montreal a 3-2 lead at 18:34, as the forward drove in on net and slid the puck past Vejmelka.
Logan Cooley scored at 3:07 of the third period to tie the game 3-3, scoring on a rebound from a shot by Keller.
Caufield made it 4-3 at 6:33, scoring off a pass from Hutson and beating Vejmelka on the blocker side.
Jake Evans had a chance to extend the lead with a penalty shot at 13:21, but was denied by Vejmelka.
Dach scored again at 16:15, beating Vejmelka on the glove side for the 5-3 final.
After just three shots on goal in the first period, the Canadiens finished with a 26-25 advantage.
Utah defenseman John Marino made his season debut after undergoing back surgery in October.
"I took a couple of shifts to get my legs under me," Marino said. "Just kind of the rhythm and the flow of the game with all the penalties and stuff and taking shifts off. But it was a step in the right direction."
Utah next hosts the New York Rangers Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.