The Montreal Canadiens beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 Sunday in the Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, getting goals from Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle in the second period before goaltender Jacob Fowler held off a late push. Cole Caufield recorded two assists and the Canadiens improved to 6-3-2.
Montreal broke through with back-to-back goals in the second period after a scoreless first. Hutson opened the scoring 7:19 into the middle frame on a wrist shot, assisted by Noah Dobson and Caufield. Guhle made it 2-0 at 11:04 of the second, also on a wrist shot, with Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský picking up assists.
Isak Rosén cut the deficit to 2-1 for Winnipeg at 15:24 of the third period, but the Jets could not find the equalizer. Winnipeg fell to 4-4-3.
Key Moments: How The Canadiens Won
Montreal’s entire offensive output in this Canadiens Jets Heritage Classic recap came in a span of less than four minutes in the second period. Hutson’s goal gave the Canadiens the lead, and Guhle doubled it less than four minutes later. Those two tallies held up as the difference despite Winnipeg outshooting Montreal 34-21 for the game.
Rosén’s third-period goal, assisted by Gabriel Vilardi and Haydn Fleury, pulled the Jets within one with 4:36 remaining in regulation. Winnipeg could not generate a tying goal despite four power-play opportunities on the day, going 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Top Performers
Jacob Fowler stopped 33 of 34 shots for Montreal, posting a .971 save percentage in the winning effort. Stuart Skinner made 19 saves on 21 shots for Winnipeg. Caufield finished with two assists and no goals, logging 15:50 of ice time. Hutson scored the game-winner and played 21:12, while Guhle added the insurance goal in 23:10 of ice time, the most of any Montreal skater besides Mike Matheson’s 25:37.
For Winnipeg, Rosén’s lone goal led the Jets, while Fleury picked up an assist. Kyle Connor led all Jets forwards in ice time at 24:23, including 6:16 on the power play, but was held without a point.
What It Means
Montreal moved to 14 points in the Atlantic Division standings, sitting fifth with a 6-3-2 record. Winnipeg dropped to 11 points in the Central Division, tied for sixth with a 4-4-3 mark. The win also gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead in the season series between the two clubs, according to the official data.
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