The Montreal Canadiens had a chance to complete a perfect road trip with a win over the Dallas Stars in the Lone Star State on Thursday night, and they didn’t disappoint their fans. Mike Matheson missed the game with a lower-body injury the Habs said was new, so Arber Xhekaj returned to the lineup. In net, Jakub Dobes finally returned between the posts after Jacob Fowler pitched three near-perfect games.

The Stars were no easy prey, despite dealing with injuries to Matt Duchene, Esa Lindell, and Oskar Back. Glen Gulutzan’s men started the game in third place in the Central Division with 15 points in 12 games and one of the league’s best goaltenders in Jake Oettinger.

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After playing a key role for the Canadiens in the last playoffs and scoring both Game 7 game-winning goals, Alex Newhook fully deserved a look on the first line. In fact, if the Habs hadn't been showcasing Oliver Kapanen after Nick Suzuki’s injury, he might have gotten it earlier. That didn’t matter to him, though; he kept his head down, went to work, and answered the call when it came.

He scored a brace, and both lamplighters were impressive in their own way. Newhook has incredible speed, but when he turns on the jets to enter the zone on the power play, and the blueline is crowded, the play often dies. However, when he gets a pass at full speed and catches a defenseman flat-footed, he can easily outrun them and cut to the net, as he did to score the Habs’ second goal of the game. As for his second goal, it was a fantastic display of hand-eye coordination: he backhanded the puck in mid-air while heading to the back of the net. Right in front of a helpless Lian, Bichsel tried to kick the puck clear after losing his stick.

The Canadiens led by three in the second frame, and unsurprisingly, the Stars started to push back. These are the moments Martin St-Louis talks about when he says his players have to play a mature game and know the situation. Still, Juraj Slafkovsky once again made one of his all-too-frequent no-look backhand passes near the offensive blueline, and the hosts picked it up.

When you’re protecting a lead, you can still attack, but you need to keep defense in mind. On the offensive side of the puck, you need to evaluate the odds of your play succeeding and what failure could mean. If you make that kind of play on the power play when you can see four defenders in a box shape in front of you, it's one thing; doing it at even strength, when you don’t know where the opposing players are, is quite another.

Slafkovsky doesn’t lack defensive instincts; his forecheck proves it. He played a big role in Caufield’s second goal through his forecheck, but he needs to do the same in other situations. It took him time to understand why St-Louis wanted him to bring speed and movement on the forecheck, but he gets it now. Hopefully the same occurs with this issue. If and when the team is healthy, and the coach has more options, he could suffer the consequences of repeating the same mistake.

Dobes didn’t hide it; he spoke with his mental coach this week, and it certainly showed. While he wasn’t peppered with shots, the Stars only got 19 shots on net, and he made some big saves. The Czech netminder isn't Fowler; he never will be, and that’s perfectly fine. Two goaltenders can have different styles and perform well.

Fowler is calm, collected and always well positioned. Dobes is more aggressive and loves to challenge shooters. Fowler, who’s three inches shorter and smaller in his net, has had to be technically sound; he couldn’t get away with Dobes's brand of aggressive goaltending. Those extra three inches matter when he gets in the shooter's face to cut their angle; he’s big, and it limits their options. However, that only works when he’s fully confident; if he’s tentative, it becomes risky. On Thursday night, he was in the right mindset, and it showed. It took time, but he finally got his second win of the season.

Ultimately, the Canadiens won 5-2, with Cole Caufield scoring a brace as well and Phillip Danault getting his first of the season in an empty net thanks to Jake Evans. The Habs notched their fourth consecutive road win, a feat that has only happened five times in 30 years. The team heads back to Montreal on Friday morning and will then prepare to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Halloween night at the Bell Centre.

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