Caufield scores his 2nd goal of the game in OT, gives Canadiens a 5-4 win over the Kraken

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the game at 3:25 of overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

Canadiens rookie standout Ivan Demidov tied the game with less than three minutes left in the third period, forcing OT.

Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach also scored for Montreal. Samuel Montembeault made 18 saves as the Canadiens ran their winning streak to three games in the opener of a four-game homestand.

Caufield scored in a fourth straight Canadiens home opener. Newhook scored his first goal of the season in his 300th career NHL game. The goal was assisted by defenseman Alexandre Carrier, who played in his 300th game.

Jaden Schwartz, Jani Nyman, Jamie Oleksiak and Jared McCann scored for the Kraken, who dropped their first game of the season and the opener of a six-game trip. Joey Daccord stopped 17 shots.

McCann scored in his third straight game to start the season and also had an assist.

The Canadiens exacted a bit of revenge on Seattle, which swept the two-game season series last year, including an 8-2 drubbing on home ice last October.

The Canadiens win was the culmination of a night filled with celebrations surrounding Montreal’s home opener. Ceremonies before the game were highlighted by lengthy ovations for Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, Demidov, and reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson, who signed an eight-year, $70.8 million contract extension on Monday.

Kraken: At the Ottawa Senators on Thursday in the second game of a six-game trip.

Canadiens: Host the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

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

Montreal Canadiens' Alex Newhook (15) and Seattle Kraken's Brandon Montour (62) battle for the puck during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Seattle Kraken' Jaden Schwartz (17) scores on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) as Canadiens' Noah Dobson (53) skates in to defend during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) makes a save against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Alex Newhook (15) celebrates his goal over Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord (35) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Cole Caufield (13) celebrates his goal over the Seattle Kraken with teammates from left to right Kaiden Guhle (21), Lane Hutson (48), Nick Suzuki (14) and Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

HONG KONG (AP) — About a third of Hong Kong 's registered voters elected a new 90-member legislature Sunday, a turnout that avoided an embarrassment for the government but fell short of a ringing endorsement of an electoral system revamp that eliminated the once feisty opposition in the Chinese territory.

The turnout rate reached 31.4% at 10:30 p.m., one hour before the polls closed. That result surpassed the 30.2% in the 2021 election, the first held under the new system. It was much lower than before the electoral changes, when turnout topped 50%.

Many of the city’s 4.1 million eligible voters, especially democracy supporters, have turned away from politics since a crackdown that has stifled dissent. Candidates must now go through a vetting process that ensures they are patriots who are loyal to the Chinese government. The government says the changes were needed to bring stability after massive anti-government protests in 2019.

The government launched a major campaign to drive up turnout, adding polling stations, extending voting hours and holding candidate forums. But public anger over government accountability in an apartment fire that killed at least 159 people late last month threatened to keep some potential voters at home.

In the end, enough came out to nudge up the turnout rate from 2021.

“I’m performing my civic duty as a citizen to vote … but I’m not too certain which candidate is hardworking and which is not,” retiree Kwan Lam said outside a polling station. “I chose the one who cares for the elderly.”

Ahead of the vote, Chinese authorities called foreign media to a rare meeting to warn them that they need to comply with the city's national security laws.

Election campaigning was suspended after the fire and remained subdued in the final days out of respect for the victims.

Government efforts to drive up turnout, seen as a referendum on the new electoral system, had been in full swing before the blaze. Promotional banners and posters were hung throughout the city and subsidies offered to centers for older people and people with disabilities to help them vote.

Authorities arrested people who allegedly posted content that incited others not to vote or cast invalid votes.

Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades has raised questions over government oversight and suspected bid-rigging in building maintenance projects. The 1980s-era apartment complex was undergoing renovations.

Some candidates pledged to combat bid-rigging.

City leader John Lee said last week that going ahead with the election, rather than delaying it, would better support the response to the fire.

"They have all experienced this fire and shared the pain,” he said of the city's Legislative Council. “They will certainly work with the government to promote reforms, diligently review funding, and draft relevant laws.”

Even before the 2021 electoral changes, only half of what had been a 70-member legislature was chosen by the general electorate.

Now, that has been reduced to 20 out of 90 seats and 40 others are chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee. The remaining 30 represent various groups — mainly major industries such as finance, health care and real estate — and are elected by their members.

The “patriots” requirement for all candidates has pushed out the opposition parties, which advocated for making the system more democratic.

The candidate pool seems to reflect Beijing's desire to have more lawmakers who are more in tune with its agenda, some observers said, in what they see as signs of Beijing’s tightening control even over its loyalists.

Lee has said that personnel changes are normal during an election. He criticized attempts to “distort” these changes to smear the new election system.

A fall in turnout would have shown that even some government supporters are staying away, said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong.

“It is a reflection of public sentiment,” he said.

Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong summoned representatives of several foreign news outlets, including The Associated Press, on Saturday.

Some foreign media had spread false information and smeared the government's disaster relief efforts after the fire, as well as attacked and interfered with the legislative elections, the Office for Safeguarding National Security said in a statement.

“No media outlet may use ‘freedom of the press’ as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or Hong Kong affairs,” the statement said.

Authorities have warned the general public against using the fire to try to undermine the government and have arrested at least one person on suspicion of inciting hatred against government officials.

Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

People walk past a polling station near the site of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee casts his ballot at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People read the candidates information at a polling station near the site of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee, poses for photos at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee speaks to the media at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee casts his ballot at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People look at a candidate brochure of the Hong Kong Legislative Council General Election at a forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Pedestrians walk past the banner promoting the Hong Kong Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)