Laine scores on Habs debut, Suzuki's OT heroics and more: 3 reasons for Montreal Canadiens's 2-1 OT win over Islanders

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders on a lucky bounce Tuesday night at Bell Centre. Habs captain Nick Suzuki got the game-winner at 2:39 of the extra frame to lift the Canadiens to a 2-1 win.

Patrik Laine scored in his Canadiens debut, notching a power-play goal in the second period to open the scoring. Meanwhile, Islanders captain Anders Lee scored his 11th of the season to tie the game at one.

Here's a closer look at three reasons why Montreal defeated New York in overtime on Tuesday night.

3 reasons why Montreal Canadiens won over New York Islanders

#3. Laine scores first goal as Canadien on power play

The Islanders entered the game with the second-worst power play in the league. That was something the Montreal Canadiens took advantage of, going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Islanders were unable to generate any sort of chances with the man advantage.

It’s worth pointing out the Canadiens have the eighth-best penalty kill in the league at 81.9%. As such, the Habs leveraged their superior penalty kill to limit the Islanders to a single goal.

#2. The Habs made the most of their power play opportunities

On the flip side, the Habs went 1-for-2 on the power play. Patrik Laine got his first goal as a Canadien in the second, leveraging his power play time on the night.

Unlike their penalty kill, the Habs’ power play is ranked in the middle of the pack at 15th with a 20.8% rate. That is why going 1-for-2 was a significant outcome on Tuesday night. Considering the struggles the Canadiens have had scoring 5-on-5, getting a power play tally made the difference against an equally struggling New York Islanders team.

#1. Nick Suzuki ended the game on a lucky bounce

Nick Suzuki scored his 10th of the season in overtime on a lucky bounce. The play started with the Habs captain throwing the puck at the net. The shot hit Islanders’ forward Bo Horvat off the skate and bounced right to Suzuki who made no mistake in burying his rebound past Ilya Sorokin for the winner.

For Suzuki and the Habs, the goal was a welcome one as it gave the club two much-needed points. The Habs currently have 21 points in Atlantic Division putting them within striking distance of the third-place Boston Bruins who are six points ahead of the Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens will look to continue the momentum gained when they face the Nashville Predators next on Thursday.