Nick Suzuki scores in OT to give Canadiens 5-4 win over Canucks

MONTREAL (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored a power-play goal 48 seconds into overtime and also had two assists as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Monday night.

Lane Hutson also had a goal and two assists, Cole Caufield had a goal and an assist, and Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach also scored for Montreal. Sam Montembeault stopped 16 shots to help the Canadiens win for the fifth time in six games and eighth in their last 10.

J.T. Miller had two goals and two assists, and Jake DeBrusk and Jonathan Lekkerimaki also scored for Vancouver, which has lost seven of its last nine. Kevin Lankinen made 19 saves.

Captain Quinn Hughes, last year’s Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman, had two assists in his return from a four-game absence for the injury-plagued Canucks. He played in his 400th career game.

Canadiens: Miller and Lekkerimaki scored 20 seconds apart early in the second period to give Vancouver a two-goal lead. However, Montreal fought back with three straight goals.

Canucks: Lekkerimaki stepped up with his first career multi-point game the same day he was recalled from the AHL to replace injured forward Dakota Joshua. The 20-year-old Swede has two goals and one assist in six NHL games, all this season.

Dach and Hutson scored in the first seven minutes of the third period to give Montreal a 4-3 lead. Then 12 seconds after Caufield took a penalty, Miller set up DeBrusk on the power play for his 17th to tie the score at 8:51.

Hutson, a Calder Trophy candidate as NHL rookie of the year, became the fastest defenseman in Canadiens history to hit 30 points, reaching the milestone in 42 games. Chris Chelios held the previous record of 45.

Canucks visit Washington on Wednesday, and Canadiens play at Washington on Friday.

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

Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield celebrates after scoring the first goal against the Vancouver Canucks during first-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Emil Heineman (51) is stopped by Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) as Canucks' Vincent Desharnais (73) moves in to defend during first-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) is stopped by Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) as Canucks' Noah Juulsen (47) moves in to defend during first-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) makes a save against Vancouver Canucks' Jake DeBrusk (74) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Jonathan Lekkerimaki, (23) celebrates with teammates after scoring the third goal against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller (9) scores the second goal against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP) n Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens center Kirby Dach (77) looks on as a shot by teammate Nick Suzuki beats Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen, left, for the winning goal during overtime NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal against the Vancouver Canucks in overtime NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as officials prepared for the situation to worsen overnight.

The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of the city spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.

Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences. In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases. The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path.

The fast-moving fire prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.

Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph (97 kph) in some places. The winds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts that could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.

Officials didn't give an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but they said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned.

By evening the flames had spread into neighboring Malibu and several people there were being treated for burn injuries and a firefighter had a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.

Things were expected to worsen overnight.

“By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” Newsom warned residents, saying the worst of the winds were expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday. He declared a state of emergency.

The fires were burning about 25 miles (40 kilometers) apart and it wasn't known what started them.

As of Tuesday evening, nearly 167,000 people were without power in Los Angeles county, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us, due to the strong winds.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May.

The Pacific Palisades fire started around 10:30 a.m. and quickly consumed about 4.6 square miles (11.6 square kilometers) of land in the neighborhood in western Los Angeles, sending up a dramatic plume of smoke visible across the city.

Sections of Interstate 10 and the scenic Pacific Coast Highway were closed to all non-essential traffic to aid in evacuation efforts. But other roads were blocked. Some residents jumped out of their vehicles to get out of danger and waited to be picked up.

Resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was completely blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.

“We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” Trainor said. “People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming. The road was just blocked, like full-on blocked for an hour.”

The Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which borders Malibu about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown LA, includes hillside streets of tightly packed homes along winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretches down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.

Long-time Palisades resident Will Adams said he immediately went to pick his two kids up from St. Matthews Parish School when he heard the fire was nearby. Meanwhile, he said embers flew into his wife's car as she tried to evacuate.

“She vacated her car and left it running,” Adams said. She and many other residents walked down toward the ocean until it was safe.

Adams said he had never witnessed anything like this in the 56 years he’s lived there. He watched as the sky turned brown and then black as homes started burning. He could hear loud popping and bangs “like small explosions,” which he said he believes were the transformers exploding.

“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” Adams said.

Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the homes.

“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.

The erratic weather caused Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help reimburse California for the firefighting cost.

Some trees and vegetation on the grounds of the Getty Villa were burned by late Tuesday, but staff and the museum collection remain safe, Getty President Katherine Fleming said in a statement. The museum located on the eastern end of the Pacific Palisades is a separate campus of the world-famous Getty Museum that focuses on the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The fire also burned Palisades Charter High School classrooms.

Film studios canceled two movie premieres due to the fire and windy weather, and the Los Angeles Unified School District said it temporarily relocated students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area.

Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers Janie Har in San Francisco, Hallie Golden in Seattle and video journalist Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A swimmer watches as a large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

A surfer takes off on a wave in Santa Monica, Calif., during sunset under a blackened sky from the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Surfers Shaun Rosenberg, right, and Teal Greene take to the waves under a blackened sky from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades, during the sunset in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighters make a stand in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Will Adams uses a garden hose to keep flames from damaging his home as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters battle the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A person flees from an advancing wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A vehicle burns as the Palisades Fire sweeps through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

People wait with some belongings while fleeing the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

The Palisades Fire burns trees and homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A person tries to hose down embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE - The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter hoses down flames from the Palisades Fire in front of a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A firefighter protects a structure from the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Will Adams watches as flames from the Palisades Fire close in on his property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Fire crews battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is dropped by helicopter on the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE - The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A residence burns as a firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

Firefighters hose down flames as the Palisades Fire destroys a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Vehicles are left stranded off the side of the road after residents tried to flee from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

A resident stands in front of a garage as fire crews fight the Palisades Fire nearby in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)