Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook each netted a brace as the Montreal Canadiens dispatched the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to four games and delivering a timely reminder of their depth in the absence of captain Nick Suzuki.
Jakub Dobes turned aside 17 shots to secure his first victory since opening night, while Phillip Danault added an empty-netter and an assist to cap a comprehensive performance at the American Airlines Center. The result snapped Dallas’s five-game winning streak and handed Jake Oettinger his most difficult evening of the season to date.
Caufield and Newhook Spark Early Surge
The Canadiens wasted little time asserting themselves. Caufield opened the scoring at 7:24 of the first period, unleashing a trademark one-timer that found the back of the net. The Stars responded through Wyatt Johnston, who levelled the contest with a goal and would later add an assist, but Montreal’s reply was swift and decisive.
Newhook broke the deadlock late in the opening frame, and barely half a minute later, Caufield was at it again. The winger pounced on a loose puck behind Oettinger to restore the visitors’ advantage, a lead they would never relinquish. The sequence — two goals in 27 seconds — sucked the momentum from a Dallas side that had entered the night riding high.
Dobes Rebounds in Style
For Dobes, the outing represented a significant personal redemption. The Czech netminder had endured a torrid run, conceding 20 goals across his previous four appearances while posting an 0-2-2 record. His last visit to Dallas, early last season, ended in humiliation: pulled after allowing five goals on just 13 shots in a 7-0 defeat.
Thursday told a different story. Dobes was composed, tracking the play well and making the saves required when Dallas pushed in the second half. The decision to start him ahead of Jacob Fowler — who had won his previous six starts, including Montreal’s three preceding victories — was a calculated risk by head coach Martin St. Louis. It paid off handsomely.
Special Teams and Secondary Scoring
Newhook’s second of the night, early in the second period, arrived in fortuitous but telling fashion. Just six seconds after Dallas’s league-leading penalty kill — which had successfully snuffed out 25 of 27 opposition power plays — expired, a ricochet off the boards behind the net caught Oettinger unsighted. The puck trickled over the line for a 4-1 lead.
The Stars’ Jamie Benn and Johnston both found the scoresheet, but Oettinger’s night ended with four goals allowed on 20 shots, a season-worst for the Vezina candidate who entered play with a 1.43 goals-against average, third-best in the NHL. Noah Dobson and Mikko Rantanen — celebrating his 30th birthday — each recorded two assists for their respective sides.
Life Without Suzuki
Montreal’s 4-0 record without Suzuki, sidelined since 20 October with an upper-body injury expected to keep him out for two to four weeks, speaks volumes about the group’s resilience. Danault’s two-point night, Caufield’s continued elite finishing, and Newhook’s breakout performance suggest the Canadiens possess the offensive distribution to weather the storm.
Dallas, meanwhile, falls to 3-2-0 on a season-long six-game homestand with one contest remaining. The loss halts momentum built over an impressive stretch and raises questions about their ability to close out extended home runs against determined opposition.
Why it Matters
Montreal’s fourth consecutive victory, all secured in Central Division barns, signals a team finding its identity without its talismanic centre. For a franchise in transition, these road points are gold dust — proof that the supporting cast can shoulder the scoring burden and that Dobes can be a reliable fallback when Fowler inevitably cools. Dallas, conversely, must regroup quickly; a homestand that promised a points haul now risks finishing merely .500, a missed opportunity in a brutally competitive Western Conference.
