Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and David Savard each had a goal and an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday night.

Mitchell Stephens and Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal, which trailed 2-0 early in the second period. Cayden Primeau made 19 saves.

With their second win over the Blackhawks this season, the Canadiens roll into the NHL’s Christmas break with points in five straight games (3-0-2).

“We weren’t happy with our start for sure,” said Suzuki, who scored his team-leading 10th goal. “We know that style that we play and that we can come back in games just with our relentlessness and hunting on the forecheck.

“Turn a lot of pucks over, got a lot of chances and (Stephens) got us started with a big tip.”

Montreal coach Martin St. Louis credited his players’ direct, physical style with allowing them to take charge.

“We just got back to playing our game so to speak,” St. Louis said. “I thought we had some big plays, some big goals at key times that gave us some life, and I thought we played an excellent third period.”

Stephens started Montreal’s comeback with his first goal since March 3, 2020, for Tampa Bay against Boston. Anderson and Slafkovsky scored 2:31 apart late in the middle frame to put the Canadiens ahead.

“I don’t know if they let us back in or if it was just good play from us,” Suzuki said.

Savard added an empty-netter with 1:56 left.

Ryan Donato scored for a second straight game and Jason Dickinson fired in a career-high 10th goal, but the last-place Blackhawks once again failed to protect a lead.

NHL rookie scoring leader Connor Bedard set up Donato’s goal and has five assists in his last three games. Petr Mrazek made 23 saves in his third straight start.