The Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 at the Bell Centre on Saturday night for their fifth straight win. Montreal scored four goals in the first 23 minutes, the second line of Chris Kreider, Jake Evans and Josh Anderson produced six points, and Oliver Kapanen and Kreider, who had been looking for offense, both scored. Phillip Danault played his 800th NHL game, and Jacob Fowler stopped 25 of 29 shots for his seventh straight win as the Penguins outshot the Canadiens 15-4 in the third period. The Canadiens are 9-3-2 with 20 points. Pittsburgh is 5-7-2.
A Fast Start From Both Teams
Pittsburgh scored first. Noah Dobson went off for tripping at 1:21, and Erik Karlsson scored on the power play at 2:08 with assists from Sidney Crosby and Tommy Novak. Montreal answered within 33 seconds. Kapanen scored his first goal of the season at 2:41, and Anderson made it 2-1 at 3:05, 24 seconds later, on a pass from Kreider. It was the third time this season that the Canadiens scored twice within 30 seconds. Novak tied the game at 7:28 with assists from Rickard Rakell and Crosby, and the first period ended 2-2. Montreal outshot Pittsburgh 14-6 in those 20 minutes.
Danault Reaches 800 Games
Danault played his 800th regular-season NHL game, a career that started with Chicago in 2014-15, the team that drafted him 26th overall in 2011. Since then he has played 419 of those games with the Canadiens, and he has 132 goals and 285 assists for 417 points. He marked the night with an assist on Texierโs goal, won 7 of 13 faceoffs (53.8 percent), added two hits, and played 19:57 between Texier and Zachary Bolduc. For a center who is trusted in every defensive situation, it is a number that tells a story about durability and reliability.
The Second Line Had a Big Night
Evans played on the second line at center between Kreider and Anderson, and that line was the best group on the ice. Anderson scored twice (goals 5 and 6 of the season) and added an assist for three points, Kreider scored his second goal of the season and added an assist, and Evans assisted on Andersonโs second goal. Together they had three goals and three assists, and they finished plus-3 (Anderson) and plus-4 (Kreider and Evans). Kreider led the Canadiens with five shots on goal, and Evans also won 11 of 16 faceoffs (68.8 percent). Anderson and Evans spent more than 12 minutes together on the ice, and the result was the kind of line a coach loves: a net-front scorer, a center who wins pucks, and a veteran winger who finishes. Anderson was named the first star.
The Kid Line Finds the Net
Kapanen played on the fourth line with Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj, and the young line started the scoring. Beck and Xhekaj had the assists on Kapanenโs first goal of the season at 2:41. Kapanen played 11:04, Beck 8:51 and Xhekaj 7:34, and all three finished plus-1. Beck had three hits and fought Blake Lizotte in the second period, and Xhekaj added two hits. For Kapanen and Kreider, both of whom were searching for offense, scoring in the same game is the kind of result that can change the mood of a line. Kirby Dach was out with an illness, so the lineup changes gave the team a lot of speed and energy at the bottom of the lineup.
Texier and Kreider Make It 4-2
The second period belonged to Montreal early. Alexandre Texier scored at 1:54 from Lane Hutson and Phillip Danault, and Kreider scored 27 seconds later at 2:21 with assists from Arber Xhekaj and Anderson, which made it 4-2. It was the second time in the game that Montreal scored two goals within 30 seconds, something the Canadiens had done in a single game only twice in the previous 30 years, on April 12, 2026 and January 4, 2012. Texierโs goal was the 50th of his NHL career, and Kreiderโs was his 350th in the regular season and the 400th including the playoffs. Rakell cut the lead to 4-3 at 3:45 with Karlsson on the assist. Anderson restored the two-goal lead at 13:06 from Hutson and Evans, and Montreal went to the second intermission up 5-3.
Pittsburgh Pushes in the Third
The third period was the problem. Pittsburgh outshot Montreal 15-4, and Fowler made 14 saves on 15 shots in the period. Crosby scored at 16:49, from Karlsson, to make it 5-4, and the Penguins pulled goalie Sergei Murashov with 2:20 left for the extra attacker. The Canadiens held on. The special teams did not decide it. Montreal went 0 for 3 with the man advantage, with chances after penalties to Evgeni Malkin, Crosby and Kaedan Korczak, and Pittsburgh went 1 for 3 on Karlssonโs early goal.
The coachโs read is simple. Through two periods Montreal had 23 shots and five goals, and Pittsburgh had 14 shots. In the third the numbers flipped to 15 for Pittsburgh and four for Montreal. When a team is up two goals, the job is not to sit back. The job is to manage the puck: get it out of the zone, win the first battle on the forecheck, and change on the fly so the next line can make a clean entry. The Canadiens did not do enough of that in the third.
The Numbers
| Team | Shots by period | Total | Power play | Penalty minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadiens | 14 โ 9 โ 4 | 27 | 0 for 3 | 13 |
| Penguins | 6 โ 8 โ 15 | 29 | 1 for 3 | 13 |
Fowler stopped 25 of 29 shots (.862) for the win. Murashov stopped 22 of 27 (.815) for Pittsburgh. Montreal scored on 5 of its 27 shots (18.5 percent), and Pittsburgh scored on 4 of 29 (13.8 percent). Fowler is 7-1-0 this season, and the Canadiens are 9-3-2 with a 4-2-1 record at the Bell Centre.
Fowler Wins a Seventh Straight
Fowler has now won seven straight starts. His only loss of the season came in his first start, on October 8 against Nashville, and since then he has beaten Detroit, Buffalo twice, Chicago, Winnipeg, St. Louis and now Pittsburgh. He is the third Canadiens rookie goaltender in the past 40 years to win seven or more games in a row, after Jakub Dobeลก (7-0-0 in 2025-26) and Carey Price (7-0-0 in 2007-08). At 21 years old, he is also the second-youngest American goaltender in NHL history to win seven straight, behind Tom Barrasso, who did it at 19 in 1984-85, and the second-youngest Canadiens goaltender with a run of that length, behind Price, who was 20.
Hits, Blocks and Shot Quality
| Stat | Canadiens | Penguins |
|---|---|---|
| Hits | 22 | 13 |
| Blocked shots | 22 | 9 |
| Faceoff wins | 32 of 56 (57.1%) | 24 of 56 (42.9%) |
| Giveaways | 13 | 15 |
| Takeaways | 5 | 4 |
| Unblocked shot attempts, all situations | 35 | 48 |
| Unblocked shot attempts, 5-on-5 | 27 | 35 |
| High-danger chances, all situations* | 12 | 13 |
| High-danger chances, 5-on-5* | 10 | 10 |
*HABSHQ count from the NHL play-by-play data: unblocked shot attempts taken from the middle of the ice within 25 feet of the net.
Montreal won the physical and detail parts of the game: 22 hits to 13, 22 blocked shots to 9, and 32 of 56 faceoffs. The Penguins had the edge in unblocked shot attempts, 48-35, but the quality was even, with 13 high-danger chances for Pittsburgh and 12 for Montreal, and 10 each at 5-on-5. That is why the game was close in the third period, and why the blocked shots mattered so much. Montreal also had the better finish: five goals on 27 shots.
Expected Goals and Game Score
The expected goals (xG) model had Pittsburgh slightly ahead in the game: 3.63 to 2.51 in all situations, and a much tighter 2.12 to 1.81 at 5-on-5. That means most of the Penguinsโ edge came outside of even strength, about 1.51 expected goals against 0.70 for Montreal, while the two teams were close when the game was played five a side. The Canadiens turned 2.51 expected goals into five real ones, and the Penguins scored four on 3.63.
Finishing was a big part of that. Anderson, Kreider, Texier and Kapanen had a combined 1.18 individual expected goals and scored five of them, with Andersonโs two goals coming on just 0.13 of individual xG. Fowler faced 3.62 expected goals against and gave up four goals, so he was almost exactly where the model expected him to be, and he made the saves when the game was still tight.
The game score numbers match what the eye test said. Lane Hutson was the top player on the ice at 4.99 with two assists and four blocked shots in 23:47, followed by Kreider at 4.48, Anderson at 4.36 and Evans at 4.04. The second line was the story: Kreider and Evans were both well ahead on the expected goals ledger (0.93 to 0.56 and 0.99 to 0.43), and Anderson was at 0.80 to 0.38. The kid line was also on the right side in short minutes. Beck was 0.45 to 0.30 and Florian Xhekaj was 0.40 to 0.23 in under nine minutes each, while Kapanen, who played 11:04, was 0.30 to 0.56.
The other side of the ledger belonged to the top line and the top defense pair. Caufield, Newhook and Slafkovskรฝ each finished at 0.86 expected goals against with between 0.26 and 0.36 for, and Guhle (24:05) and Carrier (21:19) carried the heaviest defensive workload against Pittsburghโs best chances, with Guhle at 1.18 expected goals against. That is the one area to watch as the Canadiens continue to win with a rookie goaltender.
| Player | TOI | G | A | Individual xG | On-ice xG for | On-ice xG against | Game Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lane Hutson | 23:47 | 0 | 2 | 0.06 | 0.52 | 0.48 | 4.99 |
| Chris Kreider | 12:10 | 1 | 1 | 0.65 | 0.93 | 0.56 | 4.48 |
| Josh Anderson | 14:58 | 2 | 1 | 0.13 | 0.80 | 0.38 | 4.36 |
| Jake Evans | 17:40 | 0 | 1 | 0.14 | 0.99 | 0.43 | 4.04 |
| Alexandre Texier | 14:32 | 1 | 0 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.51 | 1.17 |
| Cole Caufield | 18:56 | 0 | 0 | 0.13 | 0.26 | 0.86 | -1.89 |
| Juraj Slafkovskรฝ | 17:23 | 0 | 0 | 0.15 | 0.28 | 0.86 | -1.92 |
| Alex Newhook | 18:54 | 0 | 0 | 0.17 | 0.36 | 0.86 | -2.09 |
| Kaiden Guhle | 24:05 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.41 | 1.18 | -2.13 |
Who Stood Out
Anderson was named the first star with two goals and an assist. Crosby was the second star with a goal and two assists, and Hutson was the third with two assists. Hutson played 23:47 and finished plus-4. Karlsson had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, and Novak and Rakell each had a goal and an assist.
What Comes Next
The Canadiens are back at the Bell Centre on Tuesday, November 3, at 7:00 PM ET against Winnipeg, then host Utah on Thursday and visit Toronto on Saturday, November 7. The Lineup Tonight page and the Injury Report will be updated before each game.
Sources: official NHL statistics and HABSHQ analysis of the NHL play-by-play data.
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