Caufield and Newhook each score twice as Canadiens defeat Stars 5-2 in Dallas

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Dallas Stars 5-2 at American Airlines Center on Thursday, extending their winning streak to four games and keeping all of those victories on the road. Montreal improved to an 8-3-2 record as Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook each scored twice, while Phillip Danault scored once and added an assist. Noah Dobson finished with two assists, and Jakub Dobes made 17 saves for the Canadiens. The Stars dropped to 7-5-1 and suffered their second consecutive loss, with Jake Oettinger stopping 16 shots.

Caufield opened the scoring for Montreal at 7:24 of the first period, taking advantage of a rebound in front after Danault’s shot deflected off Dallas defenseman Nils Lundkvist. The puck slid under Oettinger’s right pad as Caufield converted the loose rebound to make it 1-0.

Dallas responded at 12:53 of the first period when Wyatt Johnston scored on the power play to tie the game 1-1. Johnston snapped the puck low into the far side of the net following a pass from Mikko Rantanen from the bottom of the right circle.

Montreal regained the lead at 16:05 as Newhook scored his first goal of the game. Dobson delivered a stretch pass to Newhook, and the forward raced into the zone, beat Thomas Harley, and finished with a backhand over Oettinger to make it 2-1.

Caufield scored again shortly after, pushing Montreal’s advantage to 3-1 at 16:32. Juraj Slafkovsky carried the puck behind the net and fed Adam Engstrom for a one-timer from the right dot. The shot came off the left post to Caufield, and he redirected it in.

Newhook’s second goal arrived after another Montreal power play ended early in the second period. At 6:11, Dobson took a point shot that deflected off Chris Kreider and then Oettinger before the puck struck the glass and bounced to the side of the net. Newhook collected the rebound and backhanded it underneath Oettinger to extend Montreal’s lead to 4-1.

Dallas scored to narrow the gap at 8:52 of the second period when Jamie Benn found the net with a wrist shot from the left circle. The goal came off a feed from Rantanen below the goal line, pulling the Stars within 4-2.

Danault provided the final scoring for Montreal in the third period, recording his first goal of the season by converting an empty-net opportunity at 19:12. With the game already controlled by Montreal’s multi-goal lead, the empty-net marker sealed the 5-2 final.

With the win, Montreal captured its fourth consecutive victory and maintained its road success, while Dallas was unable to get past a Canadiens’ lead built through two-goal games from both Caufield and Newhook, along with a combined five-point contribution from Montreal’s Dobson and Danault.

Dobes’ 17-save performance backed a scoring spree that saw Montreal take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission and stretch it further with a power-play-related goal and Newhook’s second of the game. Oettinger finished with 16 saves for Dallas in a night where the Stars’ scoring was limited to Johnston, Benn, and a late empty-net goal by Danault.