MONTREAL — Tomas Plekanec could have bragged on Twitter Tuesday night about his big goal, the 20th game-winner and 145th goal of his 556-game Canadiens career.

That is, a) if Plekanec were the boastful type and b) if he had a Twitter account – not counting the imposter who for a few hours Tuesday gained several thousand duped followers by passing himself off as the Canadiens veteran centreman.

Plekanec surely has scored prettier goals. But Tuesday’s winner, clinching the Habs’ 4-3 Bell Centre win over Winnipeg, looked like an end-to-end rush in the morning summary.

The Canadiens were on the power-play 5½ minutes into the third period, defenceman Andrei Markov and Raphael Diaz playing catch along the blue line with the scored tied 3-3. Diaz finally fed the puck crisply to the right half-wall, Plekanec taking the pass off his right skate.

With three Jets defenders and Canadiens captain Brian Gionta cluttering the ice in front of Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, Plekanec snapped a shot toward the net. Seemingly with eyes of its own, the puck ricocheted off Winnipeg defenceman Ron Hainsey and past Pavelec; it was all the Habs would need for a comeback victory, their fourth straight win.

“I was aiming for Gio in the (deep) slot there, but I guess he didn’t see it,” Plekanec would say through a grin of confession of his third goal of the season.

There was plenty to smile about in the Canadiens dressing room following this victory, the Habs’ second straight win in which they had to charge from behind after blowing a two-goal lead.

Surrendering that advantage wasn’t a bright spot, obviously. But that the Canadiens didn’t fold their tent as they often did last season is a positive sign.

So, too, was the team rallying to the defence of Brandon Prust, who was drilled from behind into the boards by Winnipeg’s Nik Antropov 14 minutes into the third period.

(Little Davey Desharnais didn’t enjoy his finest game of the season, but top marks to the 5-foot-7 centreman for going after Antropov following the Prust hit, practically needing a stepladder to take on the 6-foot-6 Jet.)

“It’s obviously a lot better than last year,” Plekanec said of the team’s unity, the upbeat mood in the room and the club’s ability to overcome a deficit.

“I’m happy that we can stay focused through the bad parts of a game. We can have a couple bad shifts but we can come back and have strong shifts. That’s a big difference (compared to last season) and it’s a huge help. …

“We’re able to stay on course with the game plan. That’s what was falling apart last year. Everybody is buying into (coach Michel Therrien’s) system. There are some parts different than last year, but it’s more that we’re playing the way we want to.”

Through Tuesday’s game, Plekanec was leading Canadiens forwards with his average 20:40 time on ice per game – nearly two minutes more than Gionta.

And no longer does he need a program to know the identity of his linemates, who seemingly were chosen last year with a roulette wheel.

Plekanec is actually being given time to build some chemistry with Gionta and Rene Bourque 2.0, the latter a vastly improved player from the winger who struggled badly last season after arriving from Calgary in the trade for Michael Cammalleri.

“It’s a change, obviously,” Plekanec said of finding the same jerseys flanking him for more than two shifts. “So far we’re healthy and playing good games, so there’s no reason to change anything, I guess.

“I’m happy we’re winning. No complaints.”

Plekanec is fully healed from the tender ribs he brought back to North America from his stint in the Czech Extraliga, having played for HC Kladno. He had 21 goals and 25 assists in 32 games playing quality lockout hockey for his hometown club, skating alongside team owner Jaromir Jagr, now with Dallas, and Carolina’s Jiri Tlusty.

“I’m pretty sure that helped me,” Plekanec said of not letting his engine idle during the 113-day lockout. “It was an individual thing – some guys took some rest and they feel good, others wanted to play and feel good also.”

A fellow Canadien in Europe during the lockout was reborn defenceman Markov, who played 21 games for Vityaz Chekhov of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

That confidence-building experience has produced a formidable Markov early this season, the rearguard entering Wednesday’s game with a team-leading four goals and three assists in five games, every point on the power play.

“It’s huge,” Plekanec said of Markov’s healthy return. “I remember back in the days with Kovy (Alex Kovalev) and Marky on the power play. Weren’t we first in the league two years in a row?

“I feel it’s pretty much the same now as it was then. Marky has a huge impact on our team. His play is unbelievable.”

Plekanec’s biggest issue overseas cropped up in October, when he reported with mock desperation a dwindling supply of his familiar Canadiens-logo turtlenecks — worn beneath his jersey and sometimes over the objection of Kladno’s equipment crew.

Plekanec nursed what he had left, his shirts almost dissolving into threads, until he returned to Montreal. But it seems he’s not yet replenished his wardrobe, the Canadiens’ supply now apparently a different fabric blend.

The crisis deepening, Plekanec hasn’t set off into cyberspace in a bid to find more, not (yet?) on Twitter.

That didn’t stop the buzz Tuesday morning when teammate P.K. Subban, a few journalists and many fans began spreading word of what appeared to be Plekanec’s quiet appearance on Twitter, the enormously popular 140-character social-media platform.

Two benign but genuine-looking tweets and the fake account, since deleted, had several thousand followers.

“In the morning, I had (teammates) asking me if I had a Twitter (account),” Plekanec said, laughing. “Then I got a couple messages, ‘Welcome to Twitter,’ and I’m thinking ‘What the (heck)? Who?’

“It’s fun to get in touch with fans and I might get on Twitter one day. Never say never, but not right now. I have a little kid (his son is 13 months old) and I’d rather spend time with him than on the phone and computer.”

So what about Markov, your teammate who is famously economical with a word?

“Is there Russian Twitter, too?” Plekanec replied, laughing again.

Not Plekanec, or anyone else, is holding their breath waiting for Markov to dip his Twitter toe – even though the handles Not Plekanec, or anyone else, is holding their breath waiting for Markov to dip his Twitter toe — even though the handles @nextquestion and @PKWho remain unclaimed.

dstubbs@montrealgazette.com

Twitter: @Dave_Stubbs