Utah Mammoth's Logan Cooley (92) moves in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL — Cole Caufield scored twice, Sam Montembeault made 25 saves and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Utah Mammoth 6-2 on Saturday.

Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook had a goal and an assist apiece, while Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach also scored for Montreal (10-3-2), which lost its two previous games in overtime and a shootout.

Kailer Yamamoto and Lawson Crouse replied for Utah (9-6-0) while Karel Vejmelka stopped 18 shots. The Mammoth have lost four of their last five games after winning seven straight in October.

Yamamoto opened the scoring on Utah’s first shot 3:03 into the first period, burying a rebound off Montembeault’s pad after a soft backhand by Ian Cole.

After Montreal centre Jake Evans prevented the Mammoth from taking a two-goal lead with a goal-line save, Kapanen tied the game at 14:45 with his sixth of the season.

Crouse finished off a tick-tack-toe play to give the Mammoth a 2-1 lead at 13:58 in the second period, but Caufield answered quickly from a sharp angle, squeaking the puck between the post and Vejmelka’s pad short-side 42 seconds later.

The Canadiens took their first lead at 13:13 in the second when Newhook beat Vejmelka glove side. Caufield made it a two-goal advantage with 6:31 remaining in the third, scoring his 12th of the season with another goal at the side of the net, before Suzuki and Dach made it 6-2.

TAKEAWAYS

Canadiens: Second line provides secondary scoring. Newhook, Kapanen and Ivan Demidov have combined for 16 goals and 35 points through 14 games this season, helping Montreal rely on more than its top line of Caufield, Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky for offence.

Mammoth: Lost steam in the third period. Utah drove the play much of the opening 40 minutes despite trailing, then the Canadiens took over in the third.

KEY MOMENT

Newhook produced the highlight of the night by deking between J.J. Peterka’s legs on a rush before ripping a wrist shot to give Montreal a 3-2 lead in the second period.

KEY STAT

Kapanen and Demidov combined on Montreal’s first goal with a give-and-go between two of the NHL’s rookie scoring leaders. Demidov tops the rookie scoring list with 13 points while Kapanen leads all freshmen with six goals.

UP NEXT

Mammoth: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Canadiens: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025