DALLAS (Interstat) — Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook each scored twice, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday night at American Airlines Center. Jakub Dobes made 17 saves in his first win since opening night as Montreal won its fourth consecutive game, all in Central Division rinks. Phillip Danault added an empty-net goal and an assist, while Caufield was Montreal’s top star with two goals and three shots on goal. The Canadiens improved to 8-5, while the Stars fell to 7-6. Attendance was 18,532. Montreal’s road trip had already included wins at Chicago, Winnipeg and St. Louis. Dallas had lost to New Jersey and beaten the New York Islanders in its previous two games.

Montreal opened the scoring at 7:24 of the first period when Caufield beat Jake Oettinger with a wrist shot from Danault and Alexandre Carrier. Dallas answered at 12:53 on Wyatt Johnston’s wrist shot, with Mikko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen assisting. The Canadiens then seized control with two goals in a 27-second burst late in the period. Newhook scored on a backhand at 16:05 from Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson, and Caufield struck again at 16:32 from Adam Engstrom and Juraj Slafkovsky to make it 3-1 after one period. Dobes stopped Jason Robertson and Heiskanen in the opening minutes, while Oettinger denied Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson and Zachary Bolduc during Montreal’s early pressure. Montreal’s Josh Anderson was called for holding at 11:54, and Dallas’s Mikko Rantanen was whistled for tripping at 8:35. The Canadiens also blocked several Dallas attempts, including a Roope Hintz shot that Newhook got in front of. The first period was physical as well, with Florian Xhekaj delivering hits on Thomas Harley and Roope Hintz, Josh Anderson hitting Sam Steel and Arttu Hyry, and Tyler Seguin hitting Kaiden Guhle.

The Canadiens extended their lead in the second period when Newhook scored his second of the game at 12:11, with Chris Kreider and Dobson assisting. Dallas pulled back within two on Jamie Benn’s wrist shot at 16:52, assisted by Rantanen and Johnston. Dobes made a tip-in save on Hintz later in the period, and Oettinger stopped a Chris Kreider tip-in just before Newhook’s goal. Montreal’s Alexandre Carrier was called for holding the stick at 24:10, and Dallas’s Sam Steel was whistled for tripping at 8:05. Dobson remained active from the blue line with shots and hits, while Rantanen helped set up Dallas’s second goal. Dallas also generated a Justin Hryckowian wrist shot and a Jason Robertson backhand that Dobes turned aside. Montreal’s forecheck produced another chance when Josh Anderson deflected a shot toward Oettinger. Noah Dobson had a slap shot saved, Phillip Danault had a slap shot saved, and Alexandre Texier delivered a hit on Colin Blackwell.

Dallas pressed for another goal in the third, but Dobes finished with 17 saves on 19 shots. Montreal sealed the result late when Danault scored into an empty net, with Jake Evans assisting. The Canadiens kept the Stars from mounting a late comeback and closed out the fourth straight win on their Central Division road swing. Caufield had a wrist shot go above the crossbar in the third, Arber Xhekaj also sent a shot high, and Dobes turned aside Wyatt Johnston and Heiskanen during Dallas’s push. Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj was called for interference at 15:41, and Dallas’s Thomas Harley was whistled for interference at 24:46. Dallas later received a slashing minor on Lian Bichsel, but Montreal held firm and protected the lead. Thomas Harley had a wrist shot saved, Tyler Seguin hit the right post, and Jamie Benn delivered a hit on Kirby Dach as Dallas tried to rally.

Caufield was Montreal’s top star, finishing with two goals and three shots on goal. Newhook had two goals, two shots and one hit. Danault contributed a goal, an assist and two shots. Dobes earned the win with 17 saves. Dobson had two assists, four shots and two hits, while Carrier added an assist and two penalty minutes. Evans had an assist, one shot and one hit, and Slafkovsky recorded an assist. Caufield entered with recent games that included three shots at St. Louis, two assists at Winnipeg, four shots at Chicago and a goal and an assist against San Jose.

For Dallas, Johnston had a goal and an assist to go with two shots. Rantanen had two assists, one shot and two penalty minutes. Montreal’s Josh Anderson was called for holding against Rantanen, Carrier for holding the stick against Benn and Xhekaj for interference against Colin Blackwell. Dallas’s Rantanen was whistled for tripping against Hutson, Sam Steel for tripping against Florian Xhekaj, Thomas Harley for interference against Caufield and Lian Bichsel for slashing against Kreider. Neither team scored on the power play. Montreal’s penalty kill faced three Dallas advantages, and Dallas’s penalty kill faced four Montreal advantages.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Dallas 3, Montreal 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Dallas a 54.2 percent probability to win. Dallas had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 7 went under the over/under line of 6.