Fowler makes 33 saves in NHL debut as Canadiens beat Penguins 4-2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jacob Fowler made 33 saves in his NHL debut and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Thursday night.

Montreal gave the rookie plenty of support, as Alexandre Texier, Brendan Gallagher and Cole Caufield staked the Canadiens to a 3-0 lead through two periods. Oliver Kapanen also scored to help Montreal snap a two-game skid.

Bryan Rust scored and Erik Karlsson had a power-play goal for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby added an assist and is now four points from breaking Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for points. Lemieux is ninth all-time in NHL history.

Tristan Jarry stopped 25 shots for Pittsburgh, which lost its third straight and saw a four-game point streak end.

Montreal recalled the 21-year-old Fowler from Laval of the AHL after Tuesday’s 6-1 home loss against Tampa Bay. In that game, Jakub Dobes allowed three goals on 11 shots and Sam Montembeault gave up three goals on 10 shots in relief.

Montreal allowed more than five goals in three of its previous six games before recalling Fowler, the No. 69 overall pick in 2023. He played two NCAA seasons at Boston College and was 10-5 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average with Laval.

Kapanen scored 15 seconds after Rust made it 3-1 to give Fowler and the Canadiens a three-goal lead in the third period.

Texier gave Fowler and the Canadiens an early lead. He stripped Penguins’ D Kris Letang of the puck at the blueline and beat Jarry with a glove-side wrist shot 2:54 into the game.

Gallagher put Montreal ahead 2-0 at 4:37 of the second period. He took a cross-ice pass from Lane Hutson and fired a wrist shot that beat Jarry high and to the blocker side.

Caufield added a power-play goal for a 3-0 lead at 10:18. He was behind the goal when he banked a shot off Jarry’s skates and into the net.

Canadiens: Visit the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Penguins: Continue a five-game homestand Saturday against San Jose.

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

Montréal Canadiens' Alexandre Texier (85) returns to the bench after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Montréal Canadiens' Alexandre Texier (85) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Montréal Canadiens goaltender Jacob Fowler (32) makes a save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) reaches for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from immigration detention on a judge's order Thursday while he fights to stay in the U.S., handing a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let Abrego Garcia go immediately, writing that federal authorities had detained him again after his return to the United States without any legal basis.

Abrego Garcia’s attorney’s office confirmed he was released just before 5 p.m., the deadline the judge gave the government for an update on Abrego Garcia’s release. His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, earlier told The Associated Press that Abrego Garcia plans to return to Maryland, where he has an American wife and child and where he has lived for years after originally immigrating to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

Abrego Garcia had been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.

Sandoval-Moshenberg said he’s not sure what comes next, but he’s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.

“The government still has plenty of tools in their toolbox, plenty of tricks up their sleeve,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding he fully expects the government to again take steps to deport his client. “We’re going to be there to fight to make sure there is a fair trial.”

The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge's decision and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism” by a judge appointed during the Obama administration.

“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary.

Sandoval-Moshenberg said the judge made it clear that the government can’t detain someone indefinitely without legal authority and that his client “has endured more than anyone should ever have to.”

Abrego Garcia, with an American wife and child, has lived in Maryland for years but entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager. An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. When he was mistakenly sent there in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.

A court later ordered his return to the United States. Since he cannot be removed to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries. His federal suit claims the Trump administration is illegally using the removal process to punish Abrego Garcia for the public embarrassment caused by his deportation.

In her order releasing Abrego Garcia, Xinis wrote that federal authorities “did not just stonewall” the court, “They affirmatively misled the tribunal.” The judge was referencing the successive list of four African countries that officials had sought to remove Abrego Garcia to, seemingly without commitments from those countries, as well as officials' affirmations that Costa Rica withdrew its offer to accept him, a claim later proven untrue.

“But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there,” the judge wrote.

Xinis also rejected the government’s argument that she lacked jurisdiction to intervene on a final removal order for Abrego Garcia, because she found no final order had been filed.

Separately, Abrego Garcia is asking an immigration court to reopen his case so he can seek asylum in the United States.

He is also criminally charged in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has asked the federal court to dismiss the case, arguing the prosecution is vindictive. His defense attorney in Tennessee, Sean Hecker, declined to comment.

Loller reported from Nashville and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Kilmar Abrego García arrives to his home in Beltsville, Md., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, after being released from ICE custody. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Kilmar Abrego García arrives to his home in Beltsville, Md., Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, after being released from ICE custody. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

FILE - Kilmar Abrego Garcia joins supporters in a protest rally outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)