The start of Thursday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena was delayed because of an accident on I-279 that snarled traffic entering the city, impacting several players who live in the north suburbs.

The contest started about a half-hour later than scheduled, and, in reality, the Penguins looked as though they never truly arrived at the arena as they were defeated 4-2, extending a losing streak to three games (0-1-2).

None of the Penguins were interested in citing the inconvenience as an excuse — though, as goaltender Tristan Jarry noted, “almost the whole team” was ensnared in the backup — but the team looked sloppy and off-kilter, particularly in the early stages of play.

Seemingly simple tasks such as short-area passes or sound positioning were a challenge for the home team.

The Penguins’ captain noted the visitors had to deal with a late start as well.

“We’re not going to use that as an excuse,” Sidney Crosby said. “The game had to be (delayed) for them too. It’s unfortunate, but I’m not going to use it as an excuse.”

Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler made his NHL debut in fine fashion. A star at the junior level with the United States Hockey League’s Youngstown Phantoms, Fowler, who turned 21 barely two weeks ago on Nov. 24, stopped 36 of 38 shots.

A native of Melbourne, Fla., Fowler grew up a fan of the Penguins and Crosby, who fired a game-high seven shots.

“Been to a lot of games here,” Fowler said. “Crosby and (former goaltender Marc-Andre) Fleury were my favorite players growing up. So, it’s hard not to notice when (Crosby is) on the ice and you want to stop him every time he shoots.”

Jarry’s record slipped to 9-3-1 after he made 25 saves on 29 shots.

While the hosts wound up with the advantage in shots by the end of the game, the Penguins struggled to keep up with the Canadiens and were outshot in the first period, 9-4.

“Collectively, we just weren’t all there together,” Jarry said. “We were missing some passes early. Our breakouts weren’t as clean. When all those things are together, we’re a hard team to play against. And that’s the hardest thing to defend against, is when we have possession of the puck.”

The Penguins ceded possession early on and that led to the Canadiens opening the scoring 2:54 into regulation via forward Alexandre Texier’s first goal of the season off an ugly and lengthy shift for Penguins defenseman Kris Letang.

After Letang iced the puck from his own end boards, Penguins forward Kevin Hayes won the ensuing draw in the right circle, but the Penguins were unable to get it out of the defensive zone. Hayes wound up blocking a shot attempt at the left point by Canadiens rookie forward Owen Beck and the rebound trickled loose to the near half-wall where it was claimed by Letang, who attempted a centering pass intended for forward Anthony Mantha. Letang fanned on the pass, however, and it was scooped up by Texier, who snapped a wrister from above the left hashmark to the far side by Jarry’s glove. Letang wound up registering a shift of 2:20 leading up to the goal. There were no assists.

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“The puck bobbled,” Letang said. “I tried to pass it and it popped in the air.”

There was an anxious moment at approximately 4:56 of the first period when Crosby was struck on the left foot by a slapper from Letang. Crosby was hobbled and staggered to the bench, where he was examined by athletic trainer Kevin Elliott. Ultimately, Crosby sat for a little less than three minutes of game time before returning to the contest.

Sidney Crosby looks like he got this shot off the top of the foot, which sent him to the bench in a lot of discomfort. pic.twitter.com/z1Wxa3vIn1

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) December 12, 2025

“It’s fine,” Crosby said. “Didn’t feel great at the time, but it’s fine.”

Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher’s second goal came 4:37 into the second period.

Collecting a rebound in his own slot, Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky transitioned into the neutral zone and dealt a pass to the right wing, allowing Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson to gain the offensive zone. Pulling up on the near point, Hutson slid a cross-ice pass to the left circle where Gallagher gripped and ripped a wrister over Jarry’s right shoulder on the near side. Hutson and Slafkovsky secured assists.

GREAT GOAL GALLAGHER ???? pic.twitter.com/aA2riBXe1Z

— NHL (@NHL) December 12, 2025

The visitors went up by a field goal when forward Cole Caufield collected his 17th goal at 10:18 of the second frame during a power-play sequence.

Off some perimeter passing around the offensive zone, Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki slid a pass from the left half-wall below the goal line on the near side. Gallagher accepted the offering and fired a bad-angle wrister into Jarry’s left skate, banking it into the cage. Assists went to Suzuki and Hutson.

Cole Caufield - Montreal Canadiens (17)Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/VNfiAb3zKa

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 12, 2025

Beck appeared to get his first career goal at 16:21 of the second but the Penguins called a timeout, then issued a coach’s challenge for offside that was ultimately successful and euthanized the score.

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Penguins forward Bryan Rust got his team on the scoreboard with his ninth goal 44 seconds into the third period.

Off the right wing wall, Penguins forward Tommy Novak circumnavigated his way around the top of the offensive zone to the opposite boards and flicked a forehand pass to the slot. Crosby accepted the feed then calmly flicked a backhand pass to the right of the crease where Rust chopped a forehand shot that clunked off Fowler’s glove and bounced into the cage. Crosby and Novak had assists.

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— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 12, 2025

It took the Canadiens a mere 15 seconds to respond with rookie forward Oliver Kapanen’s 10th goal.

Gliding into the offensive zone, Slafkovsky ventured into the left circle and drew in Letang, who offered a stick check. Slafkovsky was able to avoid that impediment and slipped a clever pass to the bottom of the right circle where an onrushing Kapanen deposited an easy forehand shot by a sprawling Jarry. Slafkovsky and rookie forward Ivan Demidov were deemed worthy of assists.

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Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson capped the scoring with his second goal during a power-play sequence — with Jarry pulled for an extra attacker — at 15:07 of the final frame.

After a pass from the left point of the offensive zone by Letang missed the mark and clunked off the right boards, Karlsson settled the puck, surveyed for a shooting lane and snapped a wrister to the far side through traffic and past Fowler’s blocker. Letang and Rust had assists.

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— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) December 12, 2025

It was the only goal the Penguins scored on seven power-play chances (including one 25-second sequence with a five-on-three advantage) and it was one of the relatively few successes on an otherwise dismal night for the Penguins.

“It was horrible,” Letang surmised. “It was not good at all.”

With the benefit of a presumably smoother commute to their facility in Cranberry on Friday, the Penguins will seek a way to generate better, timely starts to a pair of upcoming home games against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and the Utah Mammoth on Sunday.

“We just have to keep working,” Jarry said. “We have to do what we know, and we have to have a good practice (Friday). Just go over some of the things that we may have been lacking the last couple of games and just come better for the weekend.”

Notes:

• The Penguins had a six-game winning streak against the Canadiens snapped. That was their longest active winning streak against any one opponent.

Now, a pair of two-game winning streaks against the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks are their longest such streaks.

• Karlsson (130 points) surpassed forward Ross Lonsberry (129) to move into 74th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Novak extended a scoring streak to five games (three goals, three assists), matching a career best.

• Rust logged a season high 25:35 of ice time on 24 shifts.

• Fowler became the first Florida-born goaltender in NHL history.

• Penguins defensemen Harrison Brunicke, Matt Dumba and Jack St. Ivany — all right-handers — were healthy scratches.

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