MONTREAL (AP) — Noah Dobson and Josh Anderson each scored twice and the Montreal Canadiens snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in a showdown between slumping teams.
Lane Hutson also scored, Ivan Demidov and Mike Matheson each had two assists, and Jakub Dobes made 24 saves for his first victory since Oct. 28. Montreal won for the second time in nine games to improve to 11-7-3.
Canadiens forward Florian Xhekaj had an assist in his NHL debut and also dropped the gloves for a big third-period fight with Dakota Mermis. Xhekaj and defenseman Arber Xhekaj became the 14th pair of brothers to play in the same game for the Canadiens, and the latest since Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn in 2010.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander scored for Toronto. The Maple Leafs opened a six-game trip with their seventh loss in eight games to fall to 9-10-3.
Joseph Woll gave up four goals on 25 shots in his fourth consecutive start before he was pulled with 6:49 left in the second period. Dennis Hildeby stopped all three shots he faced in relief.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews and winger Matthew Knies, among several other regulars, were sidelined with injuries. Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe left midway through the second period after a pass rode up his stick and hit him in the face.
Maple Leafs: At Columbus on Wednesday night.
Canadiens: At Utah on Wednesday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
