3 most impressive Montreal Canadiens players from 5-4 OT win over New York Rangers feat. Patrik Laine

The New York Rangers have partially rebounded from what was truly a horrendous stretch of nearly two months. They came into Sunday night's game against their Original Six rival Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre with a 3-0-1 record in their last four games.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens were hoping to shake off the bad feelings of blowing a 3-0 lead against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, only to lose by a 7-3 final score.

Both teams traded goals in the opening 20 minutes of play; the Rangers started the scoring courtesy of Quebec native Alexis Lafreniere, who notched his 12th goal of the season.

The Canadiens responded with a goal from Brendan Gallagher, his 11th of the season. But the Rangers retook the lead late in the first period thanks to Will Cuylle's 12th goal.

The Canadiens and Rangers went back and forth in the second period as well, as Christian Dvorak knotted the score at 5:07, only to have New York's Mika Zibanejad strike on the power-play. Montreal then responded with a goal from captain Nick Suzuki, his 14th.

Rangers veteran Chris Kreider, the longest-tenured member of the team, scored his 15th of the season late in the second period to give his club the lead; the Rangers took the 4-3 lead into the second intermission, setting up a tense third period.

Juraj Slafkovsky knotted the score for Montreal just past the midway point of the third period, and both teams eventually headed to overtime.

In the extra session, Patrik Laine played the role of hero for his club with the game-winner:

3 most impressive Montreal Canadiens players from 5-4 OT win over New York Rangers

#1. Patrik Laine

The first-year Canadiens forward continues to have a massive impact on his new club's success, not only representing a constant threat on the power-play but also finding his scoring touch during 5v5 play.

Right now, he's scoring at a nearly 50-goal pace over the course of a full 82-game season, and he's proving to be worth every bit of the trade Montreal made with Columbus for him.

#2. Christian Dvorak

The Canadiens forward finished with both a goal and an assist, while also posting a +2 rating.

He also fired three shots on net while blocking a pair of Rangers shots.

#3. Juraj Slafkovsky

The Canadiens made a major financial committment to Slafkovsky when they signed him to a legnty contract extension, and so far, he's living up to it.

He came through in the clutch for Montreal with the game-tying goal in the third period, helping to set up overtime.