Robertson scores shootout winner, Stars edge Canadiens 2-1 for 7th win in a row

MONTREAL (AP) — Jason Robertson scored the shootout winner to lift the surging Dallas Stars past the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 for their seventh consecutive victory on Saturday night.

Robertson scored the only goal of the shootout while goalie Jake Oettinger stopped Patrik Laine, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.

Oettinger made 30 saves and Jamie Benn scored in regulation for Dallas. The Stars snapped Montreal’s three-game winning streak.

Sam Montembeault made 34 saves for Montreal, which lost for only the third time in 12 games.

Canadiens: Montembeault stood tall in net all night, thwarting Robertson with a glove save in overtime. Playing on a back-to-back, Montreal gave up 16 shots in the first period a night after holding the Washington Capitals to 17 in regulation and overtime. The Canadiens, however, mostly limited quality chances from the Stars.

Stars: Dallas lived up to its stingy reputation in a tight-checking game. The Stars entered with the second-fewest goals-against per game (2.50) and stopped the Canadiens from seriously challenging Oettinger on Saturday.

After Laine blasted a one-timer past Oettinger during a 5-on-3 power play late in the second, Benn responded with 2:26 left in the period, picking the top-left corner on an odd-man rush to quickly even the score at one.

All nine of Laine’s goals have come on the power play from the left circle. He joined Canadiens great Yvan Cournoyer as the only players to score each of their first nine goals in a season on the power play.

The Canadiens open a two-game road trip against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday. The Stars visit the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

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

Dallas Stars' Colin Blackwell (15) and Montreal Canadiens' Arber Xhekaj (72) vie for the puck during first-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Nick Suzuki (14) moves in on Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Jason Robertson (21) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) during shootout NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes makes a save during warmups ahead of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Sam Steel (18) moves in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Alexandre Carrier (45) and Jake Evans (71) defend during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Nils Lundkvist (5) moves in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Evgenii Dadonov (63) moves in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Nick Suzuki (14) defends during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Jamie Benn (14) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle (21) defends during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Sam Steel (18) moves in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault as Canadiens' Alex Newhook (15) defends during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) is scored on by Montreal Canadiens' Patrik Laine (not shown) as Stars' Esa Lindell (23) looks for a rebound during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Evgenii Dadonov (63) moves in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) as Canadiens' Alexandre Carrier (45) and Kaiden Guhle (21) defend during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Dallas Stars' Evgenii Dadonov (63) moves in against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) as Canadiens' Emil Heineman (51) defends during third-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”

Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.

“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”

This comes as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.

U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.

The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.

Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Residents evacuate a building near the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)