MONTREAL (AP) — Jake Evans scored at 3:58 of overtime, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Cole Caufield, with his 30th goal of the season, and Phillip Danault also scored for Montreal, as the Habs halted a two-game losing skid.
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Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach (77) moves in on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid (40) as Knights' Shea Theodore (27) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) stops Vegas Golden Knights' Pavel Dorofeyev (16) as Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Canadiens' Alexandre Texier (85) takes a shot on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid (40) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) celebrates with teammate Cole Caufield (13) after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime in an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Mike Matheson ran his point streak to a season-long five games with an assist on Caufield’s goal.
Jakub Dobes made 32 saves in his first career start against Vegas. The 24-year-old boasts a 6-0-1 record over his past seven games, with his last regulation loss coming against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 9.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored both goals for the Golden Knights, who lost their third straight game against Montreal, dating back to last season.
Akira Schmid stopped 23 shots in the losing effort. The Swiss netminder lost for the second time in as many starts against Montreal this season.
Caufield, who had a hat trick in his team’s 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday, has scored in six straight games, the longest streak of his career. Caufield has nine goals over that six-game stretch.
Noah Hanifin skated in his 800th career NHL game for the Golden Knights. The 29-year-old Boston native became the first player of the 2015 draft class to reach the milestone.
Golden Knights: Host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.
Canadiens: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Montreal Canadiens' Kirby Dach (77) moves in on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid (40) as Knights' Shea Theodore (27) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) stops Vegas Golden Knights' Pavel Dorofeyev (16) as Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Canadiens' Alexandre Texier (85) takes a shot on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid (40) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Montreal Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) celebrates with teammate Cole Caufield (13) after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during overtime in an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration could reduce the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota, but only if state and local officials cooperate, the president's border czar said Thursday, noting he has “zero tolerance” for protesters who assault federal officers or impede the ongoing Twin Cities operation.
Tom Homan addressed reporters for the first time since the president sent him to Minneapolis following last weekend's fatal shooting of protester Alex Pretti, the second this month by federal officers carrying out the operation. His comments came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area and as the administration ended its “enhanced operations” in Maine.
Homan emphasized that the administration isn't relenting on its immigration crackdown and warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with federal officers.
But he seemed to acknowledge there had been missteps.
“I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect,” he said.
Homan hinted at the prospect of pulling out many of the roughly 3,000 federal officers taking part in the operation, but he seemed to tie that to cooperation from state and local leaders and a reduction in protester interference.
“The drawdown is going to happen based on these agreements," he said. "But the drawdown can happen even more if the hateful rhetoric and the impediment and interference will stop.”
He also said he would oversee internal changes in federal immigration law enforcement, but he gave few specifics.
“The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally,” he said. “No agency organization is perfect. And President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told reporters in Washington on Thursday he was “hopeful” that the number of federal officers in the city would be reduced. He said police would do their jobs but not “somebody else's,” referring to federal law enforcement.
Despite Trump softening his rhetoric about Minnesota officials — he said this week they were on a “similar wavelength” — there has been no visible sign of any big changes to the operation. On Thursday, as the Justice Department charged a man accused of squirting vinegar on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a smattering of protesters braved the frigid temperatures to demonstrate outside of the federal facility that has been serving as the operation's main hub.
Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday during a scuffle with the Border Patrol. Earlier this month, 37-year-old Renee Good was shot in her vehicle by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Homan doubled down on the need for jails to alert ICE to inmates who could be deported, saying that transferring such inmates to the agency while they’re still in jail is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people who are in the country illegally. ICE has historically relied on cooperation from local and state jails to notify the agency about such inmates.
“Give us access to illegal aliens, public safety threats in the safety and security of a jail,” he said.
The border czar, whose arrival followed the departure of the Trump administration’s on-the-ground leader of the operation, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, also seemed to suggest a renewed focus on what ICE calls “targeted operations” focused on apprehending immigrants who have committed crimes. Homan said the agency would conduct “targeted strategic enforcement operations” prioritizing “public safety threats.”
It remains to be seen whether ICE's renewed focus on “targeted operations” might reduce tensions.
ICE and Homan have long said the Trump administration's primary focus is to arrest people in the country illegally who have a criminal history or pose a threat to public safety. But they acknowledge they'll also arrest anyone else found to be in the U.S. illegally.
They argue that ICE operations target specific people, as opposed to carrying out indiscriminate raids where officers round up everyone and demand their papers.
Sameera Hafiz, policy director with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said Homan's comments seemed to reflect a recognition that public opinion has turned against ICE, but she questioned his argument that carrying out targeted operations would make the country safer.
“His comments still seem to be based on the false premise that deporting people or deportation will make our community safer,” she said. “All the evidence and data has shown that deportations don’t make our communities safer. They destabilize families, they tear communities apart, they hurt our economy.”
Homan didn't give a specific timeline for how long he would stay in Minnesota.
“I’m staying until the problem’s gone,” he said, adding that he has met with community, law enforcement and elected leaders in the hopes of finding common ground and suggested that he’s made some progress.
Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Steven Sloan in Washington contributed.
Posters depicting Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good are displayed inside a bus shelter across the street from the site where Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was fatally shot by federal immigration agents, in Minneapolis, Minn., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Posters depicting Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good are displayed on a wall near the site where Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was fatally shot by federal immigration agents, in Minneapolis, Minn., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
People participate during a noise demonstration outside the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A pair of volunteer observers patrol south Minneapolis neighborhoods Tuesday, Jan 27, 2026, looking for signs of activity by federal immigration officers. (AP Photo/Tim Sullivan)
People hold up photos during a vigil for Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal agents try to clear demonstrators near a hotel, using tear gas during a noise demonstration protest in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference as Marcos Charles and Rodney Scott, listen, at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Law enforcement officers prepare to make arrests after declaring an unlawful assembly during a noise demonstration outside the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference as Marcos Charles and Rodney Scott, listen, at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
