Nashville Falls 4-1 to Montreal — Preds Struggle to Match Canadiens’ Speed

Photo / by John Russell Nashville Predators

NASHVILLE, TN — The Montreal Canadiens rode a balanced attack and stingy goaltending to a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena, handing the Preds their second straight loss and closing out Nashville’s homestand.

Cole Caufield reached the 45-goal mark — the first Canadiens player to do so since Stephane Richer in 1989-90 — while Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook each finished with a goal and an assist. Jacob Fowler stopped 23 shots to pick up the win as Montreal improved to 41-21-10 and stretched its current run to four straight victories (five of six).

Montreal dominated early. The Canadiens outshot Nashville 9-2 in the opening period and carried the play for much of the night, taking a 1-0 lead when Demidov beat Juuse Saros with a wrist shot from the right circle at 11:34 of the first — a play that also marked Nick Suzuki’s 300th NHL assist. The visitors added three more in the second period — Kapanen at 3:12, Caufield at 14:45 and Newhook at 16:23 — to take a commanding 4-0 advantage into the third.

The Predators finally solved Fowler late in regulation when Zachary L’Heureux redirected a bounce off the end boards into the net with 3:34 remaining, but it proved only a consolation marker. Saros finished with 28 saves for Nashville, which dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen with Ozzy Wiesblatt and Joakim Kemell serving as healthy scratches.

“We didn’t execute,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said bluntly. “When you don’t execute against a team like that — that’s fast, young and hungry — you’re kind of chasing it, and you play slow. We played slow a lot of the night, and therefore it’s hard to sustain or get into any zone time and kind of get into our game.”

Captain Roman Josi agreed that Montreal’s speed and urgency were decisive. “I think they were just better than us,” Josi said. “They were faster, especially in the first. Seems like they can really break out well. They got some good faceoffs, but all in all, they were definitely better.”

For the Canadiens, the win keeps them third in the Atlantic Division and in striking distance of Tampa Bay, while also giving another boost to a team getting secondary scoring from players beyond its top line. Newhook praised the supporting cast: “Winning teams, you need some scoring aside from your first line. I think we know we’re capable of providing a pretty solid secondary scoring second line there.”

Fowler highlighted Montreal’s defensive discipline late in the season: “This time of year, we could score a lot, but when we dial in like that defensively we’re a hard team to beat.”

Nashville (34-30-9), meanwhile, drops back to the second Western Conference wild-card spot but with the playoff picture tightening and just nine games remaining. Brunette emphasized the need to reset quickly as the Preds head to Tampa Bay for the back half of a back-to-back on Sunday and then on to California next week.

“We’ve just got to forget and move on,” Brunette said. “The urgency level has got to rise… We’ve got to find the urgency. And with those things comes the execution. If you don't execute, you can't play fast.”

“Every game is a must win,” Josi added. “It doesn’t matter who we play, and we need to get points. There’s a lot of things we can learn from tonight and be better tomorrow.”

Notes: Caufield’s 45th goal makes him Montreal’s first 45-goal scorer since 1989-90. Lane Hutson became the first Canadiens defenseman and third player in club history to record consecutive 60-assist seasons. Nashville dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen; Ozzy Wiesblatt and Joakim Kemell were healthy scratches.