Caufield scores 44th, Dobes stops 41 to lead Habs past Canes

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored his 44th goal of the season, and Jakub Dobes made 41 saves as the Montreal Canadiens held off the Carolina Hurricanes for a 5-2 win on Tuesday night.

Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov had a goal and an assist each, and Oliver Kapanen also scored as Montreal erased a two-goal deficit for its second consecutive win.

Jake Evans buried an empty-net goal with 1 minute left in regulation, and Caufield added an assist for a two-point night.

Nikolaj Ehlers and Jordan Staal scored for Eastern Conference-leading Carolina, which lost for the first time in four games.

Frederik Andersen stopped 14 shots.

The Canadiens sit third in the Atlantic Division with 88 points. The New York Islanders, who lost on Tuesday and are the top team outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture, trailed by three points.

Ehlers opened the scoring on the power play 2:36 into the first period when Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson deflected his pass intended for Seth Jarvis into the Canadiens’ net. Staal doubled the lead at 7:09, beating Dobes glove side.

Kapanen tipped in Struble’s point shot at 12:11 to give the Canadiens some life before Montreal struck twice in the second period.

Caufield trails Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon by two goals for the league lead. No Canadien has led the NHL in goals since Guy Lafleur in 1977-78.

The Canadiens secured their 24th comeback win of the season, tying for the most in a single season in franchise history (1992-93, 1975-76).

Up next

Hurricanes: Host New Jersey on Saturday.

Canadiens: End a three-game homestand against Columbus on Thursday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl