Caufield scores late winner, lifting Canadiens 4-3 over Wild

MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored the winner with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

Caufield took a pass from Nick Suzuki and fired a shot from the top of the right circle for his 25th of the season.

Phillip Danault — with his first of the season — Alexandre Carrier and Lane Hutson also scored for Montreal.

Rookie winger Ivan Demidov provided two assists and Jakub Dobes made 16 saves.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and Brock Faber also scored for Minnesota, which beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Monday. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 29 shots.

Tarasenko opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 10:44 of the first period, beating Dobes on Minnesota’s second shot with a one-timer.

Danault jammed in a rebound to break his goal drought and tie the game at 15:22.

Carrier doubled the lead with 52 seconds remaining in the opening period, redirecting Mike Matheson’s point shot after carrying the puck into Minnesota’s zone.

Faber equalized with a wrist shot from the point that trickled under Dobes’ left pad at 10:16 in the second, but Montreal regained the lead when Hutson hammered home a Demidov pass from a sharp angle at 12:35.

Penalties to Hutson and Matheson put the Wild on a 5-on-3 power play with 8:11 remaining in regulation, and Tarasenko converted his second of the game moments after Hutson exited the box to make it a 5-on-4.

Canadiens forward Kirby Dach returned to the lineup for the first time since breaking his foot from blocking a shot on Nov. 15. Winger Alexandre Texier missed the game with a lower-body injury.

The Wild played without forwards Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Zach Bogosian.

Wild: Host Detroit on Thursday night.

Canadiens: Host Buffalo on Thursday night.

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

Minnesota Wild's Brock Faber (7) is tripped up by Montreal Canadiens' Phillip Danault (24) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Brendan Gallagher (11) battles for the puck between Minnesota Wild's Tyler Pitlick (19), David Spacek (82) and Ben Jones (39 during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Alexandre Carrier (45) celebrates his goal over the Minnesota Wild with teammate Mike Matheson (8) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) makes a save against Montreal Canadiens' Oliver Kapanen (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) makes a save as Minnesota Wild's Ryan Hartman (38) and Canadiens' Kirby Dach (77) battle for the rebound during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Beltrán fielded a question about the impact of his role in the Houston Astros' cheating scandal as deftly as he grabbed so many balls hit to him in center field.

“There's no doubt that the Astros situation has been a topic,” he said. “I feel like a lot of times there are agendas that are not positive toward my way. ... There's no doubt that in baseball you're going to go through ups and downs in life. You're going to make good decisions, so-so decisions, right, and also you're going to make bad decisions.”

Beltrán was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Tuesday along with Andruw Jones, center fielders born one day apart who excelled at the plate and with their gloves.

Making his fourth appearance of the ballot, Beltrán received 358 of 425 votes for 84.2% from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, 39 above the 319 needed for the 75% threshold. Jones, in the ninth of 10 possible appearances, was picked on 333 ballots for 78.4%.

Beltrán moved up steadily from 46.5% in 2023 to 57.1% the following year and 70.3% in 2025, when he fell 19 votes short as Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected.

Beltrán was hired as the New York Mets' manager on Nov. 1, 2019, then fired on Jan. 16, 2020, without having managed a game. New York announced its decision three days after he was the only Astros player mentioned by name in a report by Major League Baseball regarding the team’s illicit use of electronics to steal signs during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series championship — his final season.

He was hired by the Mets as a special assistant to the general manager in February 2023.

“When I retired from baseball, I thought that everything that I built in the game of baseball, like relationships and the good people that I was I able to relate myself with, I thought that was going to be lost, right?” he said. “And being back in the game of baseball, I still receive love from the people. I still receive love from the players. The teammates that I had inside the clubhouse, they know the type of person that I am. But at the same time I understand that that's also a story that I have to deal with.”

Beltrán and Jones will be inducted in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26 along with second baseman Jeff Kent, voted in last month by the contemporary era committee. Jones was born on April 23, 1977, and Beltrán one day later.

“Competing against each other for so many years it’s just a great honor to be in the same elite group with him,” Jones said.

Jones received just 7.3% in his first appearance in 2018 and didn’t get half the total until receiving 58.1% in 2023. He increased to 61.6% and 66.2%, falling 35 votes short last year.

“The first year I heard a lot of my friends were telling me, you barely made it, you’re barely hanging there,” Jones said.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years in the organization were eligible to vote.

Chase Utley (59.1%) was the only other candidate to get at least half the vote, improving from 39.8% last year. He was followed by Andy Pettitte at 48.5%, an increase from 27.9% last year, and Félix Hernández at 46.1%, up from 20.6%.

Cole Hamels topped first-time candidates at 23.8%. The other first-time players were all under 5% and will be dropped from future votes.

Steroids-tainted players again were kept from the hall. Alex Rodriguez received 40% in his fifth appearance, up from 37.1%, and Manny Ramirez 38.8% in his 10th and final appearance.

David Wright increased to 14.8% from 8.1%.

There were 11 blank ballots.

A nine-time All-Star, the switch-hitting Beltrán batted .279 with 435 homers and 1,587 RBIs over 20 seasons with Kansas City (1999-2004), Houston (2004, ’17), the Mets (2005-11), San Francisco (2011), St. Louis (2012-13), the New York Yankees (20014-16) and Texas (2016). He had 124 homers hitting right-handed and 311 batting left — crediting coach Kevin Long for his left-handed success.

Beltrán was the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year and won three Gold Gloves, also hitting .307 in the postseason with 16 homers and 42 RBIs in 65 games.

While the hall makes the decision on the cap for his plaque, Beltrán said: “There's no doubt that the Mets are a big part of my identity.”

He still has managerial aspirations.

“In order for you to have opportunities in baseball, you have to stay relevant, you have stay in the game,” Beltrán said. “Managing is something that I would love to try it at some point.”

Jones batted .254 with 434 homers, 1,289 RBIs and 152 stolen bases in 17 seasons with Atlanta (1996-2007), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2008), Texas (2009), the Chicago White Sox (2010) and the Yankees (2011-12). He finished his career with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League from 2013-14.

His batting average is the second-lowest for a position player voted to the Hall of Fame, just above the .253 of Ray Schalk, a superior defensive catcher, and just below the .256 of Harmon Killebrew, who hit 573 homers.

A five-time All-Star, Jones earned 10 Gold Gloves. He joins Braves teammates Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff in the hall along with manager Bobby Cox.

In the 1996 World Series opener at Yankee Stadium, Jones at 19 years, 5 months became the youngest player to homer in a Series game, beating Mickey Mantle’s old mark by 18 months. Going deep against Pettitte in the second inning and Brian Boehringer in the third of a 12-1 rout, Jones became the second player to homer in his first two Series at-bats after Gene Tenace in 1972.

“I didn’t play this game to be Hall of Famer,” Jones said. “I played this game too to help my team win.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - New York Mets' Carlos Beltran smiles during an introductory baseball news conference in New York, Nov. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - Former Atlanta Braves player Andruw Jones walks on the field as his number is retired Sept. 9, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

FILE - Atlanta Braves' Andruw Jones watches his home run in front of New York Yankees' catcher Jim Leyritz in the second inning of the World Series on Oct. 20, 1996, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

FILE - Texas Rangers' Carlos Beltran follows through on a two-run home run swing as Los Angeles Angels catcher Carlos Perez watches in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sept. 21, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)