Fowler stops 33 as Canadiens edge Jets 2-1 outdoors

WINNIPEG _ Jacob Fowler made 33 saves and Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle scored in the second period as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Sunday night in the NHL Heritage Classic.

Isak Rosen scored his first goal of the season for Winnipeg with 4:46 left in the third period, and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots in the loss. The Jets have lost five straight.

The crowd of 32,342 at Princess Auto Stadium watched a scoreless first period before Hutson broke through at 7:19 of the second, finishing a cross-slot pass from Noah Dobson on the back door. Guhle made it 2-0 at 11:04 with a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic. Guhle has scored in consecutive games.

Cole Caufield had two assists for Montreal.

Rosen cut the deficit with a one-timer from below the right faceoff dot, set up by Gabriel Vilardi, but Fowler and the Canadiens held on through the final minutes.

Fowler has won five straight starts. At 21 years 335 days, the Canadiens rookie became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to start an outdoor game, and he is the fourth rookie goalie to win one.

Montreal coach Martin St. Louis praised Fowler’s play but said he wants to see his team give up fewer chances. “Ideally, I would like to have to defend less,” St. Louis said.

Hutson said the Canadiens are still learning to protect a lead. “I think it’s still a work in progress,” he said.

Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said his team started slowly and that its third period was its best. He said the Jets needed more traffic in front of Fowler. Jets forward Adam Lowry said Rosen needed to get “dialed in” and that his offensive ability was on display.

The game was the first for the Jets since they traded goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Dawson Mercer, the main piece Winnipeg got back in the deal, made his Jets debut and played 15:22. Mercer called it “a pretty cool experience”.

Montreal improved to 6-3-2 and has points in four straight games (3-0-1). Winnipeg fell to 4-4-3. Arber and Florian Xhekaj became the third pair of brothers to play in the same outdoor game.

The Canadiens open a four-game road trip that continues Tuesday in St. Louis. The Jets host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, then face Montreal again on Nov. 3 in Winnipeg.

The Canadiens won 4-1 in Chicago on Friday, as Jake Evans scored twice. The Jets had traded Hellebuyck to the Devils for Mercer, Daws and picks.

File photo, not from the game described: Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler during a game in Montreal on Oct. 10, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

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Via NHL.com and ESPN.