Canadiens edge Jets in Heritage Classic behind Fowler's 33 saves

WINNIPEG · Goaltender Jacob Fowler stopped 33 shots as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in the NHL Heritage Classic on Sunday. The outdoor game was played at Princess Auto Stadium, the home of the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle scored for the Canadiens, who improved their record to 6-3-2. Cole Caufield assisted on both Montreal goals in the victory.

Fowler has now won his last five starts and holds a 5-1-0 record this season. He was less than five minutes from his second shutout before Winnipeg's Isak Rosen scored his first of the year. Rosen's goal made it a 2-1 game with 4:46 remaining in the third period. Jets goaltender Stuart Skinner made 19 saves in the loss. The Jets were playing their first game since trading franchise goalie Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Forward Dawson Mercer, the key piece acquired from New Jersey, logged 15:22 of ice time in his Winnipeg debut. Mercer recorded two shots on goal and one blocked shot.

Montreal built its lead with two second-period goals. Defenceman Guhle's shot through traffic beat Skinner at the 11:04 mark for what became the game-winner. The Canadiens were without top forwards Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov due to injury. Winnipeg failed to score on four power-play chances, while Montreal did not receive a single power play.

Winnipeg has now allowed the first goal in seven of its last nine contests. The Jets fell to 2-3-2 this season when their opponent scores first. They were also missing all-star defenceman Josh Morrissey for a sixth straight game. Montreal, which had a losing record when scoring first entering the game, improved to 2-2-1 in those situations.

With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and Yahoo Sports