Nick Suzuki scored a goal and an assist, Samuel Montembeault stopped 30 shots and the Montreal club beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Arena.

The Habs posted a 3-3-1 record during their longest road stretch of the season. He had not won in his first three games since the Christmas break, although head coach Martin St. Louis believes his team perhaps deserved a better result.

“I thought we played an exemplary game away from home, which is what we are capable of,” said St−Louis. But it wasn't the first time we played like that, especially during this trip.

“To finish with a .500 record, when I look at the schedule we played, I’m proud of the guys,” he added.

This marks the first time since the 2018–19 season (4–2–0) that the Canadian has posted a record of at least .500 during his traditional holiday trip.

However, he almost ran into disaster on Tuesday when he nearly blew a 4-1 lead at the end of the third period. The Stars scored two goals after replacing their goalkeeper with an additional attacker, but ultimately were unable to complete the comeback.

“It was pretty stressful,” admitted Jordan Harris, who also set up a goal and an assist for the Canadian. Of course we would have liked a better end to the game, but we won and that’s all that matters.”

Kaiden Guhle and Cole Caufield were the Canadian's other scorers (16-16-5).

Harris became the ninth Canadian defenseman to score at least one goal this season. All Habs defenders who have played at least one game have therefore hit the target at least once this season.

Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist, while Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson also scored for the Stars (22-10-4), who lost for just the second time in their last seven games (5-2-0). Mason Marchment had two assists and Scott Wedgewood made 14 saves.

The Habs used a formation with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second straight game because Christian Dvorak (upper body) was unavailable.

Josh Anderson didn't finish the game. He appeared to injure his leg early in the third period and went to the locker room. The team did not immediately provide an update on his condition.

The Canadian will be back home on Thursday when he hosts the Buffalo Sabers at the Bell Centre.

The hard

The Stars took advantage of a stupid turnover by Mike Matheson to score first after just 11 seconds of play. Matheson lost control of the puck behind his net, then Johnston reached Benn, who only had to make the save in the open net.

The Canadian responded quickly at 4:14. Harris applied pressure to the right wing, allowing Juraj Slafkovsky to recover the puck. Slafkovsky then passed to Suzuki, who scored with a one-timer.

The Habs had the best chances in the first third and were able to take the lead before the end of the quarter. Guhle scored at 9:46, capitalizing on a long comeback from a shot by Johnathan Kovacevic.

“The first goal didn’t affect us,” said Guhle. We reacted quickly and then I scored. I think we started playing better after that.”

However, the second period was up to the Stars, who had a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal.

However, the Canadians were the only team to score during the game. Harris beat Wedgewood at 6:54 with a shot from the side of the shield during a three-on-two attack.

The Stars kept the Canadian in his territory several times during the third period, but Montembeault closed the door.

The Habs goaltender particularly frustrated Craig Smith during a two-on-one attack. Montembeault was also alert when Evgenii Dadonov blocked a ball throw from Marchment.

The Stars' indiscipline at the start of the third period allowed the Canadian to score a decisive goal. Caufield completed a beautiful passing play started by Slafkovsky, Suzuki and Sean Monahan at 6:45.

Caufield celebrated his 23rd birthday by flashing the red light for the third game in a row.

The Stars replaced Wedgewood with an additional attacker with more than six minutes left in the game. The strategy allowed Johnston to reduce the deficit with 3:48 left.

Robertson then brought the Stars within one goal with 2:00 left.

The Canadian has finally managed to survive the stars' recent attacks.

“The last five minutes felt like 20 minutes,” St-Louis said. It wasn't easy to deal with emotionally. It’s a learning experience for everyone, including me.”