PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jacob Fowler made 33 saves in his NHL debut and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Thursday night.
Montreal gave the rookie plenty of support, as Alexandre Texier, Brendan Gallagher and Cole Caufield staked the Canadiens to a 3-0 lead through two periods. Oliver Kapanen also scored to help Montreal snap a two-game skid.
Bryan Rust scored and Erik Karlsson had a power-play goal for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby added an assist and is now four points from breaking Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for points. Lemieux is ninth all-time in NHL history.
Tristan Jarry stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh, which lost its third straight and saw a four-game point streak end.
Montreal recalled the 21-year-old Fowler from Laval of the AHL after Tuesday’s 6-1 home loss against Tampa Bay. In that game, Jakub Dobes allowed three goals on 11 shots and Sam Montembeault gave up three goals on 10 shots in relief.
Montreal allowed more than five goals in three of its previous six games before recalling Fowler, the No. 69 overall pick in 2023. He played two NCAA seasons at Boston College and was 10-5 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average with Laval.
Kapanen scored 15 seconds after Rust made it 3-1 to give Fowler and the Canadiens a three-goal lead in the third period.
Texier gave Fowler and the Canadiens an early lead. He stripped Penguins’ D Kris Letang of the puck at the blueline and beat Jarry with a glove-side wrist shot 2:54 into the game.
Gallagher put Montreal ahead 2-0 at 4:37 of the second period. He took a cross-ice pass from Lane Hutson and fired a wrist shot that beat Jarry high and to the blocker side.
Caufield added a power-play goal for a 3-0 lead at 10:18. He was behind the goal when he banked a shot off Jarry’s skates and into the net.
Up next
Canadiens: Visit the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Penguins: Continue a five-game homestand Saturday against San Jose.
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