On a Wednesday night in Anaheim, a team that had lost four straight found its footing again when Alex Newhook buried a late rush with barely three minutes remaining. It is the sort of win that arrives only after a long stretch of close defeats, and the Canadiens earned it by surviving their own lapses as much as their opponent's pressure. Across a season still young, it marks a small turn: a reminder that a team can lose its grip and reclaim it, even when the young players across the ice refuse to fold.
Newhook's Late Goal Lifts Canadiens Past Ducks 4-3, Ending Four-Game Skid
Gripping their sticks and worried about losing it
Mark
Montreal wins, snaps a four-game skid. Is that the whole story?
Mimi
Mostly, but the shape matters. They led 2-0 and 3-1 and still nearly lost, then Newhook scored with 3:20 left on a 2-on-1 from Jake Evans.
Luke
And it's only their third win in 10 games. One result doesn't fix that.
Mark
What changed early on?
Mimi
They scored first. They'd allowed the opening goal in four of their last five games, and here Newhook and Guhle scored 38 seconds apart in the first.
Mark
Anaheim lost but had a notable night.
Mimi
Four players under 21 all got points: McTavish, Luneau, Carlsson and Mintyukov. That's the fourth time in 30 years a team has done that.
Luke
Which is a stat about the scoresheet, not about whether the Ducks are getting better. They've lost four straight.
Mark
Cronin seemed to say that too.
Mimi
He did. He praised the McTavish line but said they can't rely on one line almost every night.
Luke
Worth noting that's his assessment. The game itself only shows one line producing in this one.
Mark
And Montreal's read on it?
Mimi
Evans said they were gripping their sticks in the third. St. Louis admitted it could have gone the other way.
O Pulso
- Montreal threw away a 2-0 lead and then a 3-1 cushion, forcing a nervous finish in which every shift felt like a potential collapse.
- Anaheim's teenagers, led by McTavish's two goals, kept striking back and turned the arena into a contest that never settled.
- Newhook's 2-on-1 finish with 3:20 left broke the tie and stopped a four-game skid that had been weighing on the room.
- Coach Greg Cronin warns that the Ducks lean too heavily on one line, a problem he believes must be solved before close losses turn into a habit.
- Montreal now faces a roughly 10-day road trip, starting Friday in San Jose, where the victory must be built upon.
On a Wednesday night in Anaheim, a team that had lost four straight found its footing again when Alex Newhook buried a late rush with barely three minutes remaining. It is the sort of win that arrives only after a long stretch of close defeats, and the Canadiens earned it by surviving their own lapses as much as their opponent's pressure. Across a season still young, it marks a small turn: a reminder that a team can lose its grip and reclaim it, even when the young players across the ice refuse to fold.
With 3:20 left in Anaheim on Wednesday night, Alex Newhook took a 2-on-1 pass from Jake Evans and slid it past the goalie, giving Montreal a 4-3 lead. It was his second goal of the night, and it was enough to end a four-game losing streak and deliver only the third win in ten games.
The Canadiens nearly threw the game away. They owned a 2-0 lead and later a 3-1 edge, yet Anaheim, a team on its own four-game slide, kept finding answers. Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots, and Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson also scored for Montreal.
The Ducks' young core refused to fade. Mason McTavish scored twice, Frank Vatrano tied the game in the third, and Anaheim became only the fourth team in 30 years to get points from four players under 21 in one game. Rookie Tristan Luneau earned his first career point in just his third game.
For the Ducks, coach Greg Cronin saw the loss as a warning. He said the McTavish line was dominant but that a team cannot rely on one unit every night. For Montreal, Evans admitted the final minutes were tense, and St. Louis praised the effort while acknowledging it could have gone either way. Both teams return to action Friday, with Montreal beginning a lengthy road trip in San Jose.
With 3:20 left on the clock Wednesday night in Anaheim, Alex Newhook finished a 2-on-1 rush set up by Jake Evans and put the Montreal Canadiens ahead 4-3. It was his second goal of the game, and it held up. The win ended a four-game losing streak for Montreal and was only its third in 10 games.
The Canadiens had to earn it twice over. They blew a 2-0 lead and then a 3-1 lead against a Ducks team that was itself on a four-game skid. Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots in goal. Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson also scored for Montreal, which has now won on the road only twice in six games.
The start was what Montreal had been missing. The Canadiens had allowed the opening goal in four of their previous five games, but this time they struck first. Newhook scored 5:59 into the first period, just after a power play expired, and Guhle followed 38 seconds later with his second goal of the season. Evans said the early goals gave the group confidence and that the team came in waves at the start.
Anaheim answered through its young players. Mason McTavish cut the lead to 2-1 less than a minute into the second period, tipping in a Leo Carlsson pass on a power play. Matheson restored the two-goal margin 56 seconds later with a wrist shot from the high slot that beat John Gibson. About six minutes into the period, McTavish scored again, his second multi-goal game of the season, after Frank Vatrano spun around on a centering pass having chased down a pass from Tristan Luneau. Vatrano then tied it at 3 with 8:29 left in the third, beating Montembeault five-hole for his 13th goal of the year. McTavish finished with two goals and an assist, Vatrano with a goal and an assist, and Gibson made 24 saves.
There was a footnote in the Ducks' scoring. McTavish, Luneau, Carlsson and defenceman Pavel Mintyukov, who had the secondary assist on McTavish's second goal, all recorded points, making Anaheim the fourth team in the past 30 years to have four players under 21 do so in one game. The last team to manage it was the 2011-12 Colorado Avalanche. Luneau, the 53rd overall pick in the 2022 draft, got his first career point in his third game.
Still, Anaheim coach Greg Cronin was not consoled. He said the McTavish line was dominant, but that the Ducks cannot be a one-line team, and that relying on one line nearly every night makes it hard to win. Of the close losses, he said they are games Anaheim could win, and that the team was winning them a month ago.
Montreal's side was relieved but candid. Evans said that in the third period the Canadiens were gripping their sticks and worried about losing it, adding that there is still a lot to clean up. Coach Martin St. Louis said he loved the compete level, acknowledged the game could have gone the other way, and said his team needed the win. Montembeault noted the Canadiens are on the road for about 10 days, so getting the first game was important.
Both teams play again Friday. Montreal visits San Jose, and Anaheim hosts Los Angeles.
Citações Notáveis
We can't be a one-line team. We're relying on one line almost every night and it's hard to win that way.— Greg Cronin, Anaheim Ducks coach
Could it have gone the other way? Absolutely. But this team needed a win tonight, and we found a way.— Martin St. Louis, Canadiens coach
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