Caufield Helps Canadiens Hold Off Leafs 4-2

Cole Caufield set up the goal that settled things, and the Montreal Canadiens held on for a 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. Alex Newhook scored twice in the first period, Chris Kreider added an unassisted breakaway, and Caufield’s helper on Zachary Bolduc’s power-play strike restored a two-goal lead after Toronto had cut it to one.

Montreal improved to 11-3-3 and pushed its point streak to 10 games (8-0-2). The Canadiens have now beaten the Maple Leafs in five straight meetings. Toronto fell to 8-8-2 and has dropped four of its last five (1-4-0).

Newhook Buried Two Before the First Intermission

Newhook gave Montreal a 2-0 lead before the first period was over. At 5:56, after a Gavin McKenna turnover, he sent the puck across the low slot and watched it pinball in off Jake McCabe’s right skate, then Sergei Bobrovsky’s left skate. At 13:06 he tipped a Kaiden Guhle point shot through Bobrovsky’s pads while battling McCabe in the right circle. Those were his fourth and fifth goals of the season.

Kreider made it 3-0 at 12:57 of the second. He picked off a McKenna cross-ice pass, walked in alone, and snapped a wrist shot past Bobrovsky’s right pad. Jacob Fowler, the 21-year-old rookie in Montreal’s net, had stopped everything to that point and finished with 26 saves. He is 8-1-1 overall and 8-0-1 in his last nine games.

Toronto Made It 3-2 in 55 Seconds

The Maple Leafs finally broke through early in the third. William Nylander ripped a power-play one-timer from the left circle at 6:19 for his 11th goal, tying John Tavares for fifth on Toronto’s all-time power-play goal list (85). McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, chipped one home from the low slot 55 seconds later to make it 3-2.

That was the danger spot. Fowler had been in net Tuesday when Montreal blew a 4-0 lead in the final 2:39 against Winnipeg and lost 5-4 in overtime. Saturday, the Canadiens did not let the building flip all the way. They killed off the rest of the period’s pressure and went back to work on the power play.

Caufield’s Helper Put It Away

The night’s biggest swing came at 12:15 of the third. Caufield helped work the puck to Bolduc, who blasted a one-timer from the right circle past Bobrovsky to make it 4-2. Lane Hutson picked up the other assist, his 14th of the season, and Caufield recorded his fifth helper.

Montreal then killed the last 3:33, including the final 2:24 with Bobrovsky pulled, after Juraj Slafkovsky took a double minor for high-sticking Jack Roslovic. Bobrovsky finished with 24 saves. Toronto played without Morgan Rielly after the defenseman left with a lower-body injury early in the second period and did not return. Tavares was back after missing nine games with a lower-body injury, skating on the wing.

The Canadiens host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at the Bell Centre. Montreal has points in 10 straight and just took another one from its oldest rival on the road. That is a team playing with real confidence heading into a home date.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Cole Caufield points against the Wild on Tuesday. He set up Bolduc’s power-play winner when the lead got tight, and Montreal’s attack kept generating looks after Toronto cut it to 3-2.