On a Wednesday night in Anaheim, Alex Newhook slipped a finish past the Ducks' goalie with barely three minutes left, and the Montreal Canadiens, who had twice let leads evaporate, held on for a 4-3 win that ended a four-game slide. It is a small thing in the long arc of a hockey season, yet such late-breaking reversals are how a young team learns whether it can keep its nerve. For Montreal, the victory arrived at the start of a long road trip, and for Anaheim, another close loss deepened the question of how far one line can carry a team.
Newhook's Late Second Goal Lifts Canadiens Over Ducks 4-3, Snapping Four-Game Skid
Montreal blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before Newhook finished the rush
Mark
Montreal blew two leads and still won. Why does this one count for them?
Mimi
Because it ended a four-game skid and came at the start of a roughly 10-day road trip. Montembeault said they wanted to get the first one.
Mark
The early goals seem to matter too.
Mimi
They'd allowed the opening goal in four of their last five games. Here they scored twice in the first 6:37 or so, Newhook and then Guhle 38 seconds later.
Luke
Careful, though. They still gave up both leads. Evans himself said there's a lot to clean up.
Mark
And Anaheim's side of it?
Mimi
Four players under 21 each had a point, which has happened only four times in 30 years. McTavish had two goals and an assist.
Luke
That's a nice stat, but it didn't stop a fourth straight loss.
Mark
Cronin seemed to say that himself.
Mimi
He praised the Vatrano-McTavish line but said they can't be a one-line team.
Luke
That's his read. The game story supports that the line scored, but it can't tell us how the rest of the lineup has played over the streak.
Mark
So what do we actually know about what's next?
Luke
Only the schedule: Montreal at San Jose, Anaheim home against Los Angeles, both Friday.
El Pulso
- Montreal jumped out to a 2-0 lead, only to watch Anaheim claw back and take a 3-2 advantage in the second period.
- Vatrano's tying goal in the third left the game hanging open, with both benches gripping their sticks through the final minutes.
- Newhook's 2-on-1 finish with 3:20 remaining snapped Montreal's four-game losing streak and shifted the momentum of a restless season.
- Anaheim's fourth straight defeat leaves the Ducks leaning heavily on the Vatrano-McTavish line, and their coach is warning that this approach won't last.
- Montreal heads into a roughly ten-day road trip with its first win in hand, while both clubs turn their attention to Friday's games in San Jose and Anaheim.
On a Wednesday night in Anaheim, Alex Newhook slipped a finish past the Ducks' goalie with barely three minutes left, and the Montreal Canadiens, who had twice let leads evaporate, held on for a 4-3 win that ended a four-game slide. It is a small thing in the long arc of a hockey season, yet such late-breaking reversals are how a young team learns whether it can keep its nerve. For Montreal, the victory arrived at the start of a long road trip, and for Anaheim, another close loss deepened the question of how far one line can carry a team.
Alex Newhook took a 2-on-1 feed from Jake Evans with 3:20 left in Anaheim and buried it, giving Montreal a 4-3 win and ending a four-game losing streak. It came after a game of swings that never let either side rest. Newhook opened the scoring early, and Kaiden Guhle doubled the lead within a minute. Anaheim then answered in the second, with Mason McTavish tipping home a power-play goal and later adding another to make it 3-2, while Montreal's Mike Matheson had restored a two-goal lead in between.
Frank Vatrano tied the game in the third with a five-hole finish, and the Canadiens spent the final stretch gripping their sticks and fearing the loss. Montembeault made 30 saves, and his teammates were glad to take the first game of a long trip. Coach Martin St. Louis praised his team's competitiveness, and Evans offered a cautious view: a late win feels good, but there is still plenty to fix.
For Anaheim, the defeat stretched their skid to four. Four Ducks under 21 recorded points, a rare feat, and McTavish had two goals and an assist. Coach Greg Cronin admired the Vatrano-McTavish line but warned that the team cannot lean on one unit every night. Both clubs return to play Friday, with Montreal visiting San Jose and Anaheim hosting Los Angeles.
Alex Newhook finished a 2-on-1 rush with 3:20 left on Wednesday night in Anaheim, scoring his second goal of the game and giving the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Ducks. The goal ended a four-game losing streak for Montreal, which had let two separate leads slip away before it got there.
The Canadiens started fast. After allowing the first goal in four of their previous five games, they scored first this time. Newhook put them up 5:59 into the first period, just after a power play expired. Kaiden Guhle followed 38 seconds later with his second goal of the season. Jake Evans said the early burst gave the group confidence, and that the team was coming in waves at the start.
Anaheim answered quickly in the second. Less than a minute in, Mason McTavish converted a power play by tipping in a pass from Leo Carlsson to make it 2-1. Montreal replied 56 seconds later, when Mike Matheson beat John Gibson with a wrist shot from the high slot and restored the two-goal lead.
At the six-minute mark of the second, McTavish scored again to make it 3-2. Frank Vatrano set him up by spinning around on a centering pass after chasing down a pass from Tristan Luneau. The play gave Luneau, the 53rd overall pick in the 2022 draft, his first career point in his third game. It was also McTavish's second multi-goal game of his career.
Vatrano tied it at 3 with 8:29 left in the third, beating Sam Montembeault five-hole for his 13th goal of the season. Evans described the Canadiens' mindset in that period as gripping their sticks and worrying about losing the game. Then came Evans's 2-on-1 feed and Newhook's finish, just Montreal's third win in 10 games.
Montembeault made 30 saves, and Gibson stopped 24 for Anaheim. The win was the Canadiens' second on the road in six games, and it mattered to Montembeault for a practical reason. Montreal is away for roughly 10 days, and he said the team wanted to take the first game of the trip. Coach Martin St. Louis said he loved his team's compete level, acknowledged the game could have gone the other way, and said the team needed the win. Evans was more measured: it is great to pull one out late, he said, but there is still a lot to clean up.
For Anaheim, it was a fourth straight loss. McTavish finished with two goals and an assist, and Vatrano had a goal and an assist. Along with Luneau, Carlsson and defenceman Pavel Mintyukov, who had the secondary assist on McTavish's power-play goal, four Ducks under 21 each recorded a point. It is the fourth time in the past 30 years a team has done that, and the first since the 2011-12 Colorado Avalanche, when Ryan O'Reilly, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Stefan Elliott each did so on two occasions.
Coach Greg Cronin called the Vatrano-McTavish line dominant, but warned that the team cannot rely on one line almost every night, because it is hard to win that way. He said these are close games Anaheim could win, and that it was winning them a month ago.
Both teams are back on the ice Friday. Montreal visits San Jose, and Anaheim hosts Los Angeles.
Citas Notables
I loved our compete level. 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
We can't be a one-line team.— Greg Cronin, Ducks coach
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