The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up a flawless four-game road trip in style on Thursday night, defeating the Dallas Stars 5-2 to sweep all eight available points while playing without captain Nick Suzuki.
Following victories built largely on strong goaltending, the Canadiens showed no signs of slowing down against Dallas. Head coach Martin St-Louis credited a relentless collective effort for the team’s success during the trip. “Everything is possible when you believe in you and what you do,” St-Louis said. “Yes, we are missing big pieces. Our collective game is driving us and we are working hard.”
St-Louis shook up his forward lines prior to the opening puck drop and was immediately rewarded. Promoted to the top line alongside Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook turned in a stellar performance with two goals. Caufield also benefited from instant chemistry on the unit, netting two goals of his own to bring his season total to eight.
“He brings a lot of speed and he is very direct in his actions,” Caufield said of Newhook. “He had a good game and our trio did well.”
Dallas struck first on the power play when Wyatt Johnston scored from the doorstep off a feed from Mikko Rantanen at 12:53 of the first period. However, Montreal responded swiftly. Newhook used his explosive speed to beat a defenseman and solve goaltender Jake Oettinger at 16:05 to put the visitors ahead 2-1. Just 27 seconds later, Caufield capitalized on a loose puck following an Adam Engström shot that hit the post, making it 3-1.
Newhook added his second of the night and fourth of the game for Montreal at 6:11 of the second period during a power play, burying a bouncing puck after a shot by Noah Dobson missed the target. The Stars answered back at 8:52 when Jamie Benn converted a pass from behind the net by Rantanen to narrow the deficit to 4-2.
Goaltender Jakub Dobes provided a steady backbone for the Canadiens, turning aside 17 of 19 shots to earn a reassuring victory following a difficult start to the season that saw him surrender four to six goals in four consecutive losses. Dobes made several key stops, including a crucial glove save in the second period while Montreal was hemmed in its own zone.
In the third period, the Canadiens successfully killed off penalties to Arber Xhekaj and navigated late pressure before sealing the contest. With Dallas pulling its goaltender for an extra attacker, Jake Evans set up Phillip Danault for an insurance goal into an empty net at 19:12.
With a secondary assist on the night, rookie defenseman Lane Hutson recorded his 136th career assist, surpassing Henri Richard for the most assists by a Canadiens player before the age of 23.
The Canadiens will look to extend their winning streak to five games on Saturday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.
