MTL@NSH: A tough start to a big trip

NASHVILLE - The Canadiens didn't begin their three-game road trip on a high note on Thursday night.

In their first taste of game action since last Saturday night's overtime loss to Toronto, Claude Julien's troops came out rather flat against the Nashville Predators in a 3-1 defeat at Bridgestone Arena.
Outshot by a 16-8 margin in the opening frame, the Habs couldn't generate much of anything through 20 minutes of play.
"We were definitely rusty in the first. They were all over us," said captain Shea Weber, who appeared in the 900th game of his NHL career. "This is a building where they always come out good in the first as it is."

Nevertheless, the Predators didn't manage to light the lamp behind Carey Price in the first period and things remained scoreless.
Come the second, the Canadiens turned the tables on Peter Laviolette's contingent, peppering starter Pekka Rinne with 21 shots while allowing just 11.
But, Rinne wasn't in a giving mood and the Habs couldn't find a way to solve him.
"We were a little bit sloppy. When you look at the way we played, especially in the first period, we looked like a team that hadn't played in four or five days," explained Julien. "We were better in the second period, but we had to score with the chances we had. That hurt us."
Ryan Hartman was the lone player to tickle the twine after 40 minutes, giving the Predators a one goal advantage.
While Tomas Tatar managed to tie things up with his 18th goal of the season early in the third period, Bryan Boyle and Viktor Arvidsson scored the next couple of goals to put Nashville ahead for good.

"We didn't have the start that we wanted, but I thought we played very well for the remaining two periods. Their goaltender played pretty well and we were pretty close to scoring a couple of goals early in the second period. I thought that could have been the difference," mentioned Price, who turned aside 35 of Nashville's 38 shots. "I thought we held our own, for sure. We don't like the result, but we played a good team well."

Talking about the fourth line
One important bright spot for the Canadiens on Thursday night was the play of the fourth line comprised of Nicolas Deslauriers, Nate Thompson and Dale Weise.
Julien was certainly impressed with their performance.
"They played well. There was good progress. They gave us what we wanted them to give us," praised Julien. "They brought energy and scoring chances. It was good. Weise blocked a big shot that motivated the guys on the bench in the second period. We haven't seen a lot of that this year from our forwards, so it was good to see a guy that I hoped would provide a good example."
Likewise, Deslauriers was pleased with their first outing as a unit.
"The first two or three shifts were about learning how we play together, but I think it went well. We had a couple of chances. We just have to continue to put pucks on net. We're going to try and keep on going like that," said Deslauriers. "It's about experience, too. Nate is a good defensive player. He wins faceoffs, and Weiser is a pretty fast guy. I just have to try and make some more room for them, and the forecheck will work better."