PITTSBURGH — After consecutive heartbreaking shootout defeats, the Penguins found a more conventional way to lose Thursday.

The Canadiens controlled the game throughout and beat the Penguins, 4-2, at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh has now dropped three in a row to fall to 14-8-7 on the season.

Jacob Fowler made his NHL debut in goal for Montreal. He was excellent throughout, turning away several chances — particularly on Pittsburgh’s power play — as he racked up 33 saves.

In one second-period power play for the Penguins, the 21-year-old goalie made five saves — including beauties on consecutive wrist shots from Ben Kindel and Erik Karlsson.

Juraj Slafkovsky had two assists for the Canadiens, who were efficient in front of their rookie netminder. They were outshot, 35-29, but burned the Penguins on the rush for multiple goals.

The visitors raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first 31 minutes of the game.

Bryan Rust ensured the Penguins were not shut out, scoring a backdoor goal 44 seconds into the third period off a sneaky feed from Sidney Crosby in front of the net. Crosby is now four points away from tying Mario Lemieux for the franchise record.

That brought the Penguins within 3-1, but the Canadiens answered 15 seconds later. Slafkovsky slipped through multiple Penguins and found Oliver Kapanen for the backdoor goal.

The Penguins exited the first period fortunate to only be down 1-0 after Alexandre Texier’s goal less than three minutes into the game put the Canadiens in front.

Kris Letang, at the end of an approximately 2:20 shift, had an awful turnover trying to clear the zone.

Texier took the puck away and rifled it past Tristan Jarry, who was far from his best Thursday. Jarry entered the game 9-2-1 with a .913 save percentage. He gave up four goals on 29 shots (.862).

After the Penguins were outshot 9-4 in the first period, they were sharper in the second — but Fowler came to the Canadiens’ aid time and time again.

Brendan Gallagher put Montreal up 2-0 less than five minutes into the second period off a beautiful feed from Lane Hutson. The Penguins had a strong shift in the Canadiens’ zone, but when the visitors broke into a rush, Pittsburgh didn’t have the defensive answers.

Giving up rush opportunities is becoming a problem for the Penguins — they entered the game allowing the most rushes in the league, per Sportslogiq.

Cole Caufield banked a power play goal off Jarry to make it 3-0 about halfway through the game.

The Penguins were their own worst enemy on offensive rush chances. Kindel attempted to feed an open Ryan Graves on an odd-man rush in the second period. Graves couldn’t handle the puck.

Rutger McGroarty rattled the far post on a heavy wrister during a second-period rush that would have been his first goal of the year.

Crosby found an open Connor Clifton on the breakaway, but the defenseman fired the puck over the net.

Karlsson scored a long-overdue power play goal in the third period to make it 4-2 with just less than five minutes remaining, when one of Karlsson’s patented heavy snap shots from just inside the blue line found the top corner of the net. The Penguins had lots of traffic in front, as coach Dan Muse pulled Jarry for a 6-on-4 opportunity.

The Penguins could not punch another home with the extra attacker.

It was over when …

Kapanen’s immediate answer to Pittsburgh’s quick third-period goal stopped any momentum the home team might have picked up.

Stat of the game

Fowler’s .943 save percentage stands out. It was a debut Canadiens fans will particularly appreciate, as Montreal’s goaltending has been among the worst in the league this season.

Around the boards

— The Penguins reassigned forward Sam Poulin to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday.

— Defenseman Jack St. Ivany was activated Thursday. He suffered a lower-body injury in a preseason game Oct. 1 and completed a five-game conditioning stint with the Baby Pens on Saturday. He was not in the lineup vs. the Canadiens.

— Speaking of the Baby Pens, goalie Sergei Murashov recorded a 34-save shutout for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday. The 21-year-old now leads the American Hockey League in both goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.943) among qualified goalies.

— Forward Evgeni Malkin missed his third consecutive game. His absence was felt. The second line doesn’t have nearly the same pop without Malkin at the center.

— The game was delayed 30 minutes because of a crash on I-279 southbound that affected travel to the arena. Rust was seen running to the locker room in a suit at about 5:40 p.m.

— The Penguins were held scoreless in the first period for the first time in eight games. They had been riding the longest first-period scoring streak in the NHL.

— Crosby took a puck to the foot on a sharp Kris Letang shot. The captain skated off without putting any pressure on his left leg and was in obvious pain on the bench. But he returned for his next shift and moved well throughout the game.

— Muse won a coach’s challenge that wiped away Owen Beck’s goal, which would have put the Canadiens up 4-0 just past the 16-minute mark of the second period. Josh Anderson was offside.

Up next

The Penguins have consecutive 3 p.m. games at PPG Paints Arena against Western Conference teams with losing records this weekend. They play San Jose on Saturday followed by Utah on Sunday as part of their seasonlong five-game homestand.

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