‘Reverse The Trap’: Dallas Stars Fall To Montreal Canadiens 5-2 As Cole Caufield, Alex Newhook Score Twice

DALLAS — The Montreal Canadiens got 2 goals apiece from Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook on Thursday night. Montreal beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 at American Airlines Center to close a four-game road trip with four wins.

Wyatt Johnston scored on the power play and assisted on Jamie Benn’s second-period goal for Dallas. Mikko Rantanen, who turned 30 on Thursday, set up both Stars goals. Jake Oettinger stopped 16 of 20 shots, and the 4 goals were the most he has allowed in a game this season. He entered Thursday with a 1.43 goals-against average, third in the NHL. His 3 shutouts led the league, and the loss ended his personal four-game winning streak.

Dallas has lost two straight and is 7-5-1 with 15 points. The Stars had won five in a row before a 5-1 home loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and they entered Thursday allowing a league-low 2.0 goals per game. They have given up 5 goals in consecutive games.

Montreal improved to 8-3-2 with its fourth straight win and has earned points in six consecutive games, going 5-0-1 in that stretch. The Canadiens are 4-0 without captain Nick Suzuki, who is expected to miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.

After Tuesday’s game, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan called the loss to New Jersey Dallas’ worst game of the season. The Devils outshot the Stars 27-18.

“We didn’t win a battle all night,” Gulutzan said. “We just couldn’t get our footing, and once they smelled the blood in the water they could turn it up a little bit. That’s a good hockey team over there.”

Gulutzan met with reporters again Wednesday, a day before Montreal came to town. He said the second period Tuesday was the worst he had seen from the group since taking over.

“That game, we weren’t good,” Gulutzan explained. “The (second) period was the worst period I’ve seen the guys play in my 100 games here. That’s on all of us to look at our emotional response there. It’s our job as a coaching staff to recognize those storm clouds and reverse the trap, so it’s a learning thing for everyone.”

Cole Caufield And Alex Newhook Score 27 Seconds Apart

Phillip Danault’s shot from the point glanced off Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist 7:24 into the game, and Caufield snapped the rebound under Oettinger’s right pad for a 1-0 Montreal lead. On Dallas’ first power play, Rantanen found Johnston at the bottom of the right circle, and Johnston snapped the puck low into the far side of the net at 12:53 to tie it.

It was his third goal of the season and his first on the power play. Johnston led the NHL with 27 power-play goals last season. The total set a franchise record. Through 11 games, he has 3 goals, 7 assists, and 10 points.

Newhook put Montreal back in front at 16:05. Noah Dobson hit him with a stretch pass, and Newhook carried the puck past Thomas Harley before beating Oettinger with a backhand. Twenty-seven seconds later, Juraj Slafkovský skated behind the net and fed Adam Engström for a one-timer from the right dot. The puck hit the left post and came to Caufield at the side of the net, and he knocked it in for a 3-1 lead. It was his team-leading eighth goal of the season. Caufield scored 51 last season.

Newhook made it 4-1 at 6:11 of the second period, six seconds after Dallas killed off a Montreal power play. Dobson’s shot from the point went off Chris Kreider and Oettinger, bounced off the glass, and dropped at the side of the net. With Lian Bichsel playing without a stick, Newhook backhanded it in. He entered Thursday with 1 goal in 12 games. Dobson, who assisted on both Newhook goals, finished with 4 shots on goal.

Rantanen fed Benn from below the goal line at 8:52 of the second, and Benn beat Jakub Dobeš with a wrist shot from the left circle to make it 4-2. It was Benn’s second goal of the season, with Johnston drawing the second assist. Through 13 games, Rantanen has 6 goals, 10 assists, and 16 points.

The third period was scoreless until Danault hit the empty net at 19:12, after Dallas pulled Oettinger for an extra attacker with 2:45 remaining. Danault also set up Caufield’s opener, and the empty-netter was his first goal of the season.

Montreal went with Dobeš instead of Jacob Fowler, who had won six straight starts. Dobeš had gone 0-2-2 and allowed 20 goals over his previous four starts, then stopped 17 of 19 shots Thursday for his first win since opening night.

Dallas finished with 19 shots to Montreal’s 21 and won 36 of 56 faceoffs. Justin Hryckowian went 8-of-11 at the dot, and Roope Hintz went 8-of-10. The Stars were 1-for-3 on the power play and killed all 4 Montreal power plays. Jason Robertson led Dallas with 4 shots on goal. The Stars entered averaging 2.67 goals per game, which ranked 25th in the NHL.

The teams split two meetings last season. Dallas won 7-0 in Montreal on Nov. 13, 2025, a game in which Dobeš was pulled after allowing 5 goals on 13 shots. Montreal won 4-3 in overtime in Dallas on Jan. 4, 2026, on a goal from Lane Hutson after Johnston had scored twice. The teams meet again Dec. 27 in Montreal.

Kyle Capobianco Out About Four Weeks As Dallas Stars Close Homestand

Dallas played without defenseman Kyle Capobianco, who was hurt in a collision behind the net in the third period of Tuesday’s loss. Gulutzan did not have an exact timeline for the defenseman when he spoke before Thursday’s game.

“‘Capo’ will be out for a little bit here,” Gulutzan said. “A significant chunk of time. I don’t know right now, but I would say probably we’re at the four-week point today.”

Capobianco has played in 5 games this season. Esa Lindell remains out with a lower-body injury, and Radek Faksa is sidelined with an upper-body injury. Matt Duchene is expected to miss about three months after surgery to repair a core injury, and Oskar Back is on long-term injured reserve with a finger injury. Sam Steel returned Thursday after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. The Stars had planned an optional practice Wednesday before canceling it and sending players home to rest.

“The decision today is we skated Saturday, we played Sunday, we skated Monday and played Tuesday, so now you’re four days on the ice,” Gulutzan said. “So once you get past four, you’re looking for a day off. This is a day that, to be honest with you, we were hoping we could win and give it off, but as much as you want your players to be emotionally responsible, you have to be emotionally responsible, too. Bringing them in and skating them was not going to make them better, in our minds.”

Hintz entered Thursday with 5 goals and 5 assists in 12 games. He did not want the Devils loss tossed aside.

“We don’t want to get those bad nights because every game is important,” Hintz said. “So we just want to get what we can from this game and bring that against Montreal.”

After Tuesday’s loss, Benn said the Stars stunk and New Jersey was good. The Devils finished with 60 shot attempts to Dallas’ 38.

“I think you’ve got to look in the mirror and figure out why the result was what it was,” Benn said.

Dallas is 3-2-0 on its season-long six-game homestand and 4-4-0 at home this season. The Stars close the homestand Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT on Prime Video. Dallas visits the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, with puck drop at 6 p.m. CT.