Overview
- Montreal buried four goals in just over five minutes, including two on the power play, to pull away in the third period.
- Rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler steadied the first two periods with several high‑danger saves, building on his recent shutout.
- Physical fireworks opened the rivalry game with fights between Josh Anderson and Tanner Jeannot, then Arber Xhekaj and Nikita Zadorov.
- Phillip Danault appeared in his first Canadiens game since 2021 after being reacquired, while Alexandre Texier exited with an upper‑body injury.
- Ivan Demidov scored on a breakaway and Samuel Blais recorded his first goal as a Canadien, as Montreal rose to second in the Atlantic and next visits Tampa Bay on Dec. 28.