NHL

Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes

· National Hockey League
Final
7 - 5

Quick strikes from Caufield and Anderson help Canadiens rally for 7-5 win over Hurricanes

Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Game Highlights

Sammy Blais had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have a five-game point streak after winning for the third time in four games. Nick Suzuki, Oliver Kapanen, Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson also scored.

Alexander Texier added two assists and Jakub Dobes made 20 saves for Montreal.

Sebastian Aho had two goals and three assists to become the first Carolina player with more than three points in a game this season. Andrei Svechnikov and Nikolaj Ehlers each added a goal and two assists. Alexander Nikishin had one goal and one assist, but the Hurricanes lost for the second time in their last six home games.

Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi stopped 16 shots but took his second regulation loss in 16 games. He was trying to match the franchise record of 13 consecutive games with at least one team point.

Suzuki, who scored the last two Montreal goals Tuesday at Florida, scored 3:12 into the game and the Canadiens went up 2-0 just 56 seconds later on Kapanen’s goal.

The Hurricanes had rapid-fire offense with goals from Ehlers, Aho and Svechnikov in a span of about four minutes. Carolina’s second power-play goal came from Nikishin only 54 seconds into the second period for a 4-2 lead.

When Blais scored at 5:01 of the second, the Canadiens had three goals on eight shots. Caufield and Anderson scored at 16:23 and 16:46, respectively, to regain the lead.

Slafkovsky gave Montreal a 6-4 cushion at 11:20 of the third. Aho’s second goal came with 3:02 remaining after Bussi was pulled for an extra skater. Hutson's empty-netter came with two minutes left.

Up next Canadiens: Saturday at St. Louis.

Hurricanes: Saturday at home against Colorado.

Regular Season Series

MTL leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 3:10 Nick Suzuki Goal (14) Snap Shot, assists: Alexandre Texier (5), Samuel Blais (4)
Goal 1st Period 4:06 Oliver Kapanen Goal (12) Snap Shot, assists: Ivan Demidov (24), Juraj Slafkovský (16)
Goal 1st Period 10:47 Nikolaj Ehlers Goal (9) Snap Shot, assists: Alexander Nikishin (11), Sebastian Aho (22)
Goal 1st Period 12:19 Sebastian Aho Goal (15) Tip-In, assists: Joel Nystrom (8), Andrei Svechnikov (18)
Goal 1st Period 14:51 Andrei Svechnikov Goal (11) Snap Shot, assists: Sebastian Aho (23), Nikolaj Ehlers (19)
Goal 2nd Period 0:54 Alexander Nikishin Goal (5) Slap Shot, assists: Sebastian Aho (24), Andrei Svechnikov (19)
Goal 2nd Period 5:01 Samuel Blais Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Lane Hutson (34), Brendan Gallagher (11)
Goal 2nd Period 16:23 Cole Caufield Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: Alexandre Texier (6)
Goal 2nd Period 16:46 Josh Anderson Goal (9) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 11:20 Juraj Slafkovský Goal (14) Snap Shot, assists: Jayden Struble (6), Ivan Demidov (25)
Goal 3rd Period 16:58 Sebastian Aho Goal (16) Snap Shot, assists: Nikolaj Ehlers (20), K'Andre Miller (13)
Goal 3rd Period 18:00 Lane Hutson Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: none

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMTL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/car.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCAR
15 Blocked Shots 10
26 Hits 18
4 Takeaways 9
23 Shots 25
0 Power Play Goals 2
1 Power Play Opportunities 3
0.0 Power Play Percentage 66.7
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
28 Faceoffs Won 35
44.4 Faceoff Win Percent 55.6
18 Giveaways 19
3 Total Penalties 1
6 Penalty Minutes 2
Carolina Hurricanes Carolina Hurricanes Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
William Carrier, LW Out Jan 12
Noah Philp, C Out Jan 10
Pyotr Kochetkov, G Injured Reserve Dec 29
Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Josh Anderson, RW Out Jan 12
Patrik Laine, RW Injured Reserve Jan 10
Jake Evans, C Injured Reserve Dec 27

Game Information

Lenovo Center

Location: Raleigh, NC
Attendance: 18,299 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Detroit 28 15 60 4
Tampa Bay 28 13 59 3
Montreal 26 14 58 6
Toronto 23 15 53 7
Buffalo 24 16 52 4
Boston 25 19 52 2
Florida 24 18 51 3
Ottawa 20 19 45 5

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 28 14 60 4
NY Islanders 25 15 55 5
Philadelphia 22 14 52 8
Washington 23 17 52 6
Pittsburgh 21 14 51 9
New Jersey 23 21 48 2
NY Rangers 20 21 46 6
Columbus 19 19 45 7
Full Standings