Colton Sissons tallied twice and Juuse Saros made 36 saves in an impressive performance as the Nashville Predators defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 at Bell Centre on Sunday.
The result moves Nashville to 15-13-0 on the season and 6-7-0 on the road as they return to Bridgestone Arena to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
QUICK HITS
An Improved Effort
After a 4-0 loss in Toronto the night before, the Predators stepped onto the ice Sunday eager to get back to their identity and close out their second back-to-back of the month with two points.
Defending a desperate Canadiens offense in the second and third periods and keeping their opponent off the board through five different power-play opportunities, the Predators exited Bell Centre satisfied with their bounce-back effort.
“We’re starting to understand how to win these kinds of games, when maybe we lose a little momentum,” Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Earlier in the year we probably would have caved a little bit. So, I think we've been able to grow as a team here. Going into the third period, I really felt man-for-man we understood that maybe we wouldn't have the energy we needed to play a certain way, but we managed the game extremely well, in my opinion.”
Sissons Doubles Down
On Sunday, Sissons was shifted from his usual position at center over to right wing alongside Juuso Parssinen and Yakov Trenin.
The move, it would seem, worked out well for the veteran forward and his teammates.
First redirecting a shot from Filip Forsberg into the twine, then crashing the net to deposit a big rebound, Sissons’ eighth and ninth goals of the season gave Nashville both the lead and the momentum they needed to grab the win.
“He's one of those guys who just does everything for the team,” Predators Captain Roman Josi said. “He's great on the kill, he wins faceoffs. He does all the little things and the hard things that don't necessarily show up on the score sheet. So every time we have a guy like him chip in offensively and get rewarded for everything he does, it's always a lot of fun and the guys are really happy for him.”
Sunday was the second multi-goal game for Sissons this season - the forward tallied twice on Oct. 14 against the Boston Bruins. It was additionally the eighth multi-goal game of his career.
“He's been a huge part of our hockey team,” Brunette said. “He's had a great year so far. For me, I knew him but I didn't know quite what he could completely bring. But we can rely on him in every situation. He’s really good on the power play and he's just a complete player. He’s been a nice surprise.”
Classic Juice
If Sissons gave Nashville the lead, Saros made sure his team held onto it.
“He was awesome - just classic Juice,” Josi said. “You always know what you're getting from him, and he made some really big saves. I thought they pushed really hard in the second and then the third, but he did his thing.”
Saros has indeed been “doing his thing” more often than not lately, with Sunday’s 36-save win his fourth victory in as many starts.
“He’s been very ‘Juice-like’ as of late, and he's been excellent,” Sissons said. “We have a lot of confidence when he’s back there, and we certainly don't want to hang him out to dry and have him carry the whole team. But he gives us a lot of confidence going out in third periods and late in games when there are periods late in games when we have a tight match going on.”
Following Sunday’s game, Saros improved to 12-10-0 on the season, with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
UP NEXT
The Predators return to Bridgestone Arena Tuesday for their first meeting of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers as they near the halfway point of their busy December slate.
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena, with the game broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio. Click here to get tickets.
NOTES
- Nashville has now picked up at least a point in 18 of its last 21 meetings with Montreal
- Cody Glass and Luke Schenn did not play in Saturday’s game
