Dach, Caufield score in shootout to lift the Canadiens 2-1 over the Avalanche

DENVER (AP) — Kirby Dach and Cole Caufield scored in the shootout, Jakub Dobes had 22 saves in regulation, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Saturday night.

Caufield had the regulation goal for Montreal, which wrapped up its road trip with a 4-2 mark.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves but could only stop one of three Canadiens in the shootout. Colorado had its season-high six-game winning streak snapped.

Mikko Rantanen scored his 23rd of the season at 9:01 of the first. Montreal got the equalizer from Caufield with 6:35 remaining on an odd-man rush with Nick Suzuki.

Both teams had breakaway chances in the overtime. Blackwood stopped Kaiden Guhle’s shot in the first minute and Dobes denied Artturi Lehkonen in the final minutes.

Canadiens: Montreal had a happy flight home after their season-long road trip despite playing the second game of a back to back. They are in the midst of playing 11 of 15 games away from home.

Avalanche: Blackwood is expected to carry a heavy load while Scott Wedgewood is out with an injury to his right leg. Trent Miner will play occasionally but Blackwood is expected to get the bulk of starts.

The Canadiens got an odd-man rush midway through the third period and Emil Heineman passed the puck through the slot to Jake Evans skating down the left side. Blackwood slid over in time to stop the wrister and keep Montreal off the board.

Rantanen extended his points streak to 13 games and has 57 points, which has him in the top three in scoring in the NHL.

The Canadiens return to Montreal for a game against Vancouver on Monday night. The Avalanche wrap up a four-game homestand against Florida on Monday night.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, right, collects the puck as Colorado Avalanche right wing Oskar Olausson pursues in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes, back, deflects a shot by Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield, front, puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, left, checks Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Jonathan Drouin, left, has his shot deflected by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson, center, as goaltender Jakub Dobes protects the net in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Keaton Middleton, left, and Montreal Canadiens center Alex Newhook pursue the puck as it flies past in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

From left, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier, center Christian Dvorak and defenseman Mike Matheson confer in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche center Juuso Parssinen, back, looks to pass the puck as Montreal Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson defends in the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj, right, checks Colorado Avalanche center Juuso Parssinen as they pursue the puck in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes, right, makes a glove save of a shot as defenseman Lane Hutson battles for position with Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Jonathan Drouin, front, puts a shot on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)