Sergachev scores overtime winner, Utah Hockey Club beats Canadiens 3-2

MONTREAL (AP) — Mikhail Sergachev scored the overtime winner as the Utah Hockey Club beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Sergachev tapped in a pass from Nick Schmaltz with 27 seconds left in the extra period to end the game. Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther also scored for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 11 saves.

Alex Newhook and Jayden Struble scored for Montreal, which lost its second in a row after a dismal 6-2 defeat to Vegas on Saturday.

Sam Montembeault stopped 26 shots.

Guenther fired a cross-ice pass from Clayton Keller into the top corner to open the scoring at 6:23 of the second period. His 10th of the season came just after Utah’s fourth power play of the night expired.

Struble, who drew into the lineup late after Mike Matheson (lower-body injury) was scratched, answered at 8:05 to tie the game. Fans had enough time to yell “shoooot!” before the defenseman ripped a shot off the crossbar and in.

Newhook pounced on a rebound for his fifth of the season, giving Montreal a 2-1 lead 46 seconds into the third.

Utah equalized at 4:17 as McBain buried a pass from Logan Cooley for his eighth.

Canadiens: The Canadiens spent a lot of time down a man in the first 30 minutes, killing four penalties.

Utah: Rookie Maveric Lamoureux played his 15th NHL game and his first in front of friends and family in Montreal. The 20-year-old from Quebec was swarmed by reporters after morning skate.

McBain’s game-tying goal slowed Montreal’s momentum early in the third and forced overtime. It was his sixth in nine games.

30 — That’s how many shots the Canadiens have in their last two games. Utah outshot Montreal 14-5 in the first and 8-3 in the second.

Canadiens: Begin a three-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

Utah: Hosts the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Montreal Canadiens' Alex Newhook looks for the puck as he moves in on Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Hockey Club's Mikhail Sergachev (98) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) defends during overtime of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Alex Newhook (15) scores against Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka as Utah's Maveric Lamoureux (10) and Kevin Stenlund (82) defend during third period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Jake Evans moves in on Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka as Utah's Dylan Guenther (11) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka can't stop a goal by Montreal Canadiens' Jayden Struble during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Hockey Club's Jack McBain (22) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle (21) defends during third period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Hockey Club's Mikhail Sergachev, right, celebrates with teammate Nick Schmaltz (8) after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during overtime in an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov, 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Hockey Club's Mikhail Sergachev (98) reacts after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during overtime in an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Utah Hockey Club's Mikhail Sergachev (98) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) defends during overtime NHL hockey action in Montreal, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)