Frank Nazar leads Blackhawks to identity-building win over Canadiens

MONTREAL — In a game Monday billed as the Canadiens’ biggest in years, it was the Blackhawks who earned arguably their biggest victory in years.

Hawks rookie Frank Nazar led a valiant charge inside an electrified Bell Centre, eventually scoring a Patrick Kane-esque goal that nobody noticed in the shootout, to lift the visitors to a 4-3 victory and deny the Canadiens another opportunity to clinch a playoff spot.

It was the kind of performance that, years from now, might be looked back on as a turning point in the Hawks’ trajectory. Months after some soul-searching conversations about their lack of a team identity, they seem to be identifying and building one at last.

‘‘That’s probably the most momentous game that we’ve had — like, a game that mattered,’’ captain Nick Foligno said. ‘‘It was nice to be a part of it and not see our guys get overwhelmed by the moment. . . . It’s really encouraging to see our group find a way to come through in a time where maybe our habits and attitude didn’t allow us to in games previous.’’

Fifteen minutes in, the game already seemed to be a potentially rebuild-defining contest for both teams — but in a very different way.

Russian teenager Ivan Demidov, who upon his arrival in Montreal this past weekend was heralded as some kind of mythical hero, fully lived up to the ridiculously high expectations in his NHL debut. He did all the work to set up the Canadiens’ first goal, then scored the second one himself, deking out Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom to make it 2-0.

Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson’s decision to draft defenseman Artyom Levshunov instead of Demidov with the No. 2 overall pick last summer, a controversial call at the time, will be scrutinized for years. It might become a legacy-defining moment for Davidson if Levshunov and Demidov wind up achieving significantly different levels of success.

It’s way too early to make any judgments about whether that will happen — and, if so, which player will be better — but that didn’t stop plenty of Hawks fans from overreacting on social media Monday. It also didn’t stop Canadiens fans in attendance — Davidson and Hawks chairman Danny Wirtz were there, too, it’s worth noting — from expressing their jubilation.

The fact the Hawks’ ultra-young team pulled off what they did in the remaining 45 minutes in that kind of environment, against an opponent with so much to play for, made it all the more remarkable. It was only the Hawks’ ninth road victory of the season, and they had wilted in the face of far less pressure during many of their previous 31 road losses.

Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of this recent 3-1-1 Hawks surge is that it comes at the end of the season. It’s not going to translate seamlessly to October. But it has begun to reveal what this new, young core might be able to accomplish, especially once they gain more experience.

‘‘The resolve [and] the understanding of how to play as a team, I saw that tonight,’’ Foligno said.

Nazar led the way, setting up a power-play goal by Tyler Bertuzzi in the second period and ripping another power-play goal himself in the third.

He terrorized Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, a Calder Trophy candidate (and a good friend of his), on the forecheck and on the rush all night.

‘‘[Nazar] was dynamite,’’ interim coach Anders Sorensen said before adding something even more pointed: ‘‘I thought he was the best player on the ice [on] both teams.’’

Lukas Reichel temporarily gave the Hawks the lead, but the Canadiens got a late equalizer to force overtime. That’s another situation in which the Hawks typically had faltered this season, but they didn’t this time.

‘‘If that’s what playoff hockey is going to sound like,’’ Nazar said, ‘‘I’m really excited for that in the future.’’

Shootout mystery

Soderblom was brilliant in the shootout (formerly a weakness of his), stopping all three Canadiens shooters in various impressive fashions. It's Nazar's converted attempts, however, that will be remembered for years.

He tucked a backhand shot into the roof of the net, but the puck lodged near Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault's water bottle. Nobody except Nazar realized it went in as he skated back to the bench, and it just so happened that he didn't celebrate enough to call attention to that.

"I gave everybody fist-bumps, and everybody was like, 'What are you doing?'" Nazar said. "I get on the bench and go up to [Foligno] and say, 'I scored, right?' He goes, 'No, nice try, bro.' I'm like, 'What?! I scored! I know I scored!'"

The on-ice referees didn't check the replay — and then check the net — until after Montreal's Patrik Laine was stopped on the ensuing attempt. Sportsnet's Elliote Friedman reported that the NHL situation room did alert the penalty-box officials before Laine's attempt, though.

"[Nazar] was coming by and giving high-fives to everybody," Sorensen said. "Some of the guys looked at me, and I'm like, 'He must have scored.' But then we looked up, and it had an 'X' [on the scoreboard]. It was kind of strange. And then Laine just went at it, so we didn't have a chance to [ask], ‘Hey, what's going on?’ So, yeah, [I'm glad] it worked out."

Another debutant

The contrast in reception for Hawks rookie Ryan Greene and Demidov's consecutive "rookie laps" at the start of warmups was comical, but Greene — a Newfoundland native who did have a sizable contingent of supporters in attendance — surely expected no different.

Greene, centering the third line between Foligno and Oliver Moore, logged 12:55 of ice time in a relatively quiet NHL debut. He won three of nine faceoffs. He said the speed of decision-making required at this level was the biggest thing he learned.

"You’ve got to know your next play before you get the puck, so it took me a little bit to adjust to that," Greene said.

Sorensen, before the game, praised his skating and described him as a center who "errs on the defensive side more than anything."

Playoff implications

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, during his pre-game press conference Monday, compared Rory McIlroy's dramatic Sunday at The Masters to his team's ongoing fight to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2021.

"How much better is Rory from that experience today because he did it himself versus just winning it [by default]?" St. Louis rhetorically asked.

It was against a team with that sense of gravitas and urgency that the Hawks rallied. The Canadiens have now lost three straight while the Blue Jackets have won four straight, making what once seemed like a wrapped-up wild-card race interesting again.

The Canadiens are four points ahead with one game left at home Wednesday against the Hurricanes; that will present another clinching opportunity. The Jackets have two games left (against the Flyers and Islanders) and could grab the tiebreaker if they win both in regulation.