It took nineteen games, but Saint Zachary Bolduc was finally answered at the Bell Centre. On Thursday night, the son of the Belle Province offered two offerings in a four-to-one victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the Chicago Blackhawks. It was in the first period that Saint Zachary Bolduc put an end to his home-bound penance. With a powerful one-timer, he restored parity beneath the sacred vaults of the Temple. The forward acquired from the St. Louis Blues last summer tasted the miracle and repeated the feat in the opening seconds of the third stanza. Saint Zachary Bolduc deftly redirected a shot from Saint Lane Hutson. He thus became the first native of the Belle Province to score two goals in the same game since Saint Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who recorded a hat trick on March twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty-three, against Columbus. That goal also stood as the game-winner, earning him first star honors on the night. Later, with ten minutes remaining in the final period, Saint Noah Dobson doubled the crowd favorites’ lead. Saint Lane Hutson added a third assist to his prayer sheet, bringing his total to sixty-two helpers for the year two thousand twenty-five. Never in the history of the Holy Flannel had a defenseman accomplished such a prodigy in a single year. Saint Nick Suzuki sealed the work with an empty-net goal, reaching the plateau of ten goals for the two thousand twenty-five–two thousand twenty-six season. Before the cage of the elect, Saint Jakub Dobes faced only fifteen shots. He yielded on the first, from the stick of Frank Nazar, but thereafter closed the doors of the sanctuary. At the other end of the rink, Spencer Knight was put to the test on thirty-four occasions. Three miracles were annulled during this hockey liturgy. Two Canadiens goals were disallowed for offside, while a Blackhawks tally was overturned for interference on Saint Dobes. First Period At one minute and forty-three seconds, Saint Ivan Demidov undressed a defenseman, but his prayer missed the mark. At four minutes and seven seconds, a Blackhawks goal was overturned following a challenge by Saint Martin St. Louis for interference on Saint Dobes. At five minutes and fifty-nine seconds, Saint Alexandre Texier recorded the first shot of the game. At seven minutes and twenty-seven seconds, Frank Nazar opened the scoring for Chicago. At thirteen minutes and nine seconds, Dominic Toninato struck the post. At fourteen minutes and twenty-one seconds, Saint Zachary Bolduc scored his first goal at the Bell Temple, ending the faithful’s long wait. At eighteen minutes and fifty-nine seconds, Saint Josh Anderson narrowly missed a golden opportunity, denied by Knight. After twenty minutes, shots on goal stood at seven for Montreal and four for Chicago. Second Period At one minute and twenty-five seconds, Saint Dobes made the necessary save against Tyler Bertuzzi. At two minutes and thirty-five seconds, Saint Owen Beck was robbed of his first NHL goal by Wyatt Kaiser. At four minutes and forty-nine seconds, Saint Dobson took the game’s first penalty for tripping Ryan Greene. At thirteen minutes and seventeen seconds, Saint Josh Anderson appeared to injure his hand and suffered on the bench. At fifteen minutes and twelve seconds, Saint Dobson was hooked by Dominic Toninato, granting the Canadiens their first power play. At sixteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds, the second unit scored through Saint Brendan Gallagher, but the goal was disallowed for offside. At eighteen minutes and twelve seconds, the Canadiens earned another power play opportunity, courtesy of Nazar. After forty minutes, shots on goal read twenty-two for Montreal and ten for Chicago. Third Period At twenty seconds, Saint Zachary Bolduc offered his second offering, a deflection of great technical purity. At one minute and thirteen seconds, another Canadiens goal was disallowed for offside. At five minutes and forty-five seconds, Saint Slafkovsky and Saint Ivan Demidov broke in two-on-one, but their prayer went unanswered. At seven minutes and thirty-seven seconds, Saint Juraj Slafkovsky and Saint Dobes combined for a saving stop against Ilya Mikheyev. At ten minutes, following a work nearly completed by Saint Owen Beck, it was Saint Noah Dobson who scored this strange and providential goal. At ten minutes and twenty-one seconds, Saint Arber Xhekaj was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking. At sixteen minutes and twenty-nine seconds, Saint Nick Suzuki confirmed the victory with an empty-net goal.
