Montreal Canadiens edge Penguins 5-4 for fifth straight win as Anderson scores twice and Fowler wins seventh in a row

Montreal · Sports · Oct. 31, 2026 · The Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 at the Bell Centre on Saturday night for their fifth straight win, improving to 9-3-2. Montreal returned home from an undefeated four-game Western road trip and kept winning without captain Nick Suzuki in the lineup.

Anderson scores twice; two goals in 27 seconds in the second

Josh Anderson scored twice and added an assist to lead Montreal; Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, while Oliver Kapanen and Alexandre Texier also scored. The teams traded four goals in a fast first period that ended 2-2, before Texier and Kreider scored 27 seconds apart early in the second to give Montreal a 4-2 lead. Anderson restored a two-goal cushion with 6:54 left on a deflection, making it 5-3.

Fowler stops 25 for his seventh straight win

Rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler made 25 saves and became the third Canadiens rookie goalie in the past 40 years to win seven consecutive games. Pittsburgh pulled goaltender Sergei Murashov for an extra attacker late, and captain Sidney Crosby pulled one back with 3:11 remaining, but the Penguins could not find an equalizer.

A milestone night for Crosby

Crosby finished with a goal and two assists. His 1,112th career assist moved him past Boston great Ray Bourque for the most with one franchise in NHL history, and he tied Marcel Dionne for sixth on the scoring list with 1,771 points. Erik Karlsson also had a goal and two assists for Pittsburgh, and Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell each had a goal and an assist; the Penguins fell to 5-7-2. Montreal hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, while Pittsburgh hosts Vegas the same night.

Compiled from an Associated Press report.