Anderson bagged three points and led the Canadiens to a fifth consecutive win, 5-4

Montreal Canadiens' Chris Kreider (22) celebrates his goal over Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov (1) with teammates Arber Xhekaj (72), Josh Anderson (17) and Jake Evans (71) during second period NHL action in Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

On 3 October, the Montreal Canadiens scored two late third-period goals to force overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On Saturday evening, the Penguins came very close to pulling off the same feat against the Habs. Josh Anderson enjoyed his best night on the attack so far this season and helped the Canadiens secure a fifth consecutive victory, 5-4 at the Bell Centre.

Having failed to score in his previous six matches, Anderson netted two goals – his fifth and sixth of the season – against young goalkeeper Sergei Murashov and added an assist on Chris Kreider’s second goal of the season.

Anderson also helped preserve the Canadiens’ fragile lead by blocking a powerful shot from veteran defender Erik Karlsson late in the third period, as the Penguins were pushing hard to complete their comeback. “I felt it!” Anderson said, deadpan, referring to Karlsson’s shot. Anderson (plus-3), Kreider (1-1, +4) and Jake Evans (0-1, +4) formed the Canadiens’ most effective trio. Anderson was quick to praise Evans.

“Jake’s been playing some really good hockey of late. During our few shifts on the ice in the last game, we clicked straight away. I think he simply brings that confidence. He’s very patient with the puck and loves creating chances. And of course, he’s very reliable at both ends of the rink. He had an excellent night.”

Oliver Kapanen (1st) and Alexandre Texier (2nd) also beat Murashov, who faced 27 shots. Lane Hutson added two assists. The Penguins’ offensive contribution was limited to four players: Sidney Crosby (1-2), Karlsson (1-2), Tommy Novak (1-1) and Rickard Rakell (1-1) against Jacob Fowler.

The Habs’ young goalkeeper made 25 saves and recorded his seventh consecutive win, with just one defeat.

The Canadiens played the match without Kirby Dach, who was ill. Martin St-Louis’s side will play their next match on Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre against the Winnipeg Jets. Crosby adds to his legacy

The first period was thrilling from start to finish. Any spectators who arrived from the fourth minute of play onwards unfortunately missed the best of it. The period began with Karlsson’s third goal of the season at 2:08, during a power play, courtesy of a one-timer from the left point following a pass from Crosby.

This assist from the Penguins’ veteran captain was no ordinary one. It was his 1,112th in the NHL, placing him at the top of the league’s all-time list for career assists with a single team, ahead of former Bruins player Raymond Bourque.

Some five minutes later, Crosby added another, this time on Novak’s goal. In doing so, the Nova Scotian became the eighth player in league history to rack up at least 800 points on opposing ice. Between these feats by Crosby, the Habs struck twice in the blink of an eye. Kapanen first levelled the score 33 seconds after Karlsson’s goal, then Anderson put the Habs ahead 24 seconds after Kapanen’s.

In his post-match analysis, St-Louis paid tribute to the work of Kapanen and his two line-mates, Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck, who both picked up assists on that equalising goal.

“We got a great play from our young line. A brilliant exit from the zone. From stick to stick to stick and into the net. It gave us a bit of a breather, and from there we took off. We had a very good first period after that.”

The pace slowed down only to pick up again with a vengeance at the start of the second period. As in the first twenty minutes, both teams scored three goals in the first four minutes of the period.

Once again, it was the Canadiens’ players who dominated this segment of the match, scoring twice – Texier at 1:54 and Kreider 27 seconds later.

Around 90 seconds later, Rakell cut the Habs’ lead, but a rather fortunate goal allowed the Canadiens to make it 5–3 at 13:06. After Evans won a face-off in the Penguins’ zone, Hutson fired a wrist shot that struck Anderson on its way through, deflected to Murashov’s left before hitting Kristopher Letang’s left skate and sliding past the Penguins’ goalkeeper.

The Canadiens held onto this two-goal lead until the end of the second period, aided by Fowler’s best save of the game so far, denying Evgeni Malkin with a quick movement of his left pad with around 10 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Penguins were by far the better side in the third period, registering 15 shots – one more than in the first 40 minutes of the match – whilst limiting the Canadiens to just four shots. They pulled one back thanks to Crosby’s fourth goal, with just over three minutes remaining in normal time. `

“They’re an excellent team on the counter-attack. I felt their defenders were really active tonight and they looked dangerous on the counter-attack,” said Anderson.

“We talked about it after the first period: we had to watch out for their defenders’ surges, but when they had chances, Fowler made some big saves. I liked the way we responded.”

This article by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 31, 2026.