Canadiens extend winning streak with 5-2 rout of Stars

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday night in Dallas, extending their winning streak to four games.

Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook each scored two goals for the visitors. Caufield opened the scoring with a one-timer at the 7:24 mark of the first period. Newhook broke a 1-1 tie late in the opening frame, and Caufield added his second goal just 27 seconds later to put Montreal ahead for the rest of the game. Newhook extended the lead to 4-1 early in the second period, scoring six seconds after Dallas’ top-ranked penalty kill unit recorded its 25th successful stop in 27 attempts.

Jakub Dobes stopped 17 shots to secure his first win since the start of the season. He started in place of rookie Jacob Fowler, who had won his previous six starts, including Montreal’s last three games. Dobes had allowed 20 goals in his first four outings of the season and was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots in a 7-0 loss to Dallas earlier last season. Phillip Danault added an empty-net goal and an assist for Montreal.

Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, while Jake Oettinger allowed four goals on 20 shots. Oettinger entered the game with a 1.43 goals-against average, the third-lowest in the league. Dallas had won five consecutive games before a 5-1 home loss to New Jersey on Tuesday.

The Canadiens are 4-0 without captain Nick Suzuki, who has been sidelined since Oct. 20 with an upper-body injury. He is expected to miss two to four weeks. Noah Dobson and Mikko Rantanen, who turned 30 on Thursday, each recorded two assists for their respective teams.

Dallas is 3-2-0 with one game remaining on its six-game homestand. The Stars will host Columbus on Saturday. The Canadiens will host Pittsburgh the same day.