The Nashville Predators are in Montreal to conclude a back-to-back set tonight when they face the Canadiens at Bell Centre for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the two clubs this season; Montreal will visit Nashville in April.
The Preds began their swing through eastern Canada last night with a 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Nashville scored once in the first period and then late In the third, but they surrendered three goals in the first five minutes of the final frame, a stretch that determined Wednesday’s outcome.
“I think [it’s] just the story of it this year a little bit,” Preds forward Jonathan Marchessault said following the loss. “I think we just let teams linger when we're in the lead and we're just satisfied to be one up, and we just hold and stop creating chances. And I think when you do that in the NHL, there's too many good teams in the League to let them linger. You’ve got to put teams away, and that's another one that I think slipped through our hands.”
Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged on Wednesday night with Michael McCarron (IR, upper-body) and Jeremy Lauzon (week-to-week, lower-body) not dressed against Toronto. Forward Juuso Parssinen and defenseman Marc Del Gaizo were healthy scratches.
Last Time Out:
Marchessault and Mark Jankowski scored for Nashville on Wednesday, while Juuse Saros took the loss in net. Marchessault’s goal was his 500th NHL point.
The Good Guys:
Preds Captain Roman Josi (7g-16a) continues to lead the team in scoring, followed by Filip Forsberg (9g-8a) with 17 points and Ryan O’Reilly (5g-9a) with 14 points. Steven Stamkos has seven goals on the season, Gustav Nyquist has six and Marchessault has five. Saros is 6-11-5 in net; Justus Annunen, who has yet to make an appearance for Nashville after being acquired via trade from Colorado, went 6-4-0 for the Avalanche this season.
The Opposition:
Montreal bounced back from a 6-3 loss to Boston on Sunday with a 2-1 victory in overtime against the Islanders on Tuesday. Nick Suzuki (10g-16a) leads the club with 26 points, followed by Cole Caufield (16g-7a) with 23 points and Lane Hutson (16a) with 16 points. Patrik Laine made his official Canadiens debut on Tuesday and scored in the win. Sam Montembeault owns a 7-10-2 record; Cayden Primeau is 2-3-1 in net.
All-Time Meetings:
The Predators are 17-8-(1)-7all-time against the Canadiens, including a 8-7-(0)-2 record at the Bell Centre.
The Predators are 3-1-1 in their last five games against the Canadiens; they are 7-2-1 in their last 10; and 3-2-0 in their last five in Montreal.
Nashville has picked up at least a point in 19 of its last 22 meetings with Montreal (14-3-5) and has only lost three times in regulation since Jan. 15, 2009.
In 22 contests since the 2009-10 season, Nashville has limited Montreal to an average of two goals per game, including 16 games in which the Predators have given up two or fewer goals.
Notables Versus Montreal:
Steven Stamkos has tallied 50 points (25g-25a) in 51 career games against Montreal, the fifth-most goals he has scored against a single franchise. Stamkos is riding a six-game point streak against the Canadiens (3g-6a—9a) and has found the scoresheet in 15 of the last 16 meetings (8g-14a—22pts).
Quebec native Jonathan Marchessault has posted 17 points (8g-9a) in 20 career games against Montreal. He has points in 12 of his last 13 games against the Canadiens (8g- 8a), including three multi-point contests.
Brady Skjei has recorded 13 points in (6g-7a) in 21 career games against the Canadiens, the fourth-most points and tied for the second-most goals he has against any single franchise.
Roman Josi has 14 points (2g-12a) in 18 career games against the Canadiens. He owned a seven-game point streak against the Canadiens (1g-9a) from Feb. 14, 2019- March 5, 2024.
Michael McCarron was drafted by Montreal in the first round (25th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. He had eight points (2g-6a) in 69 games for the Canadiens from 2015-18.
Milestone Watch:
Filip Forsberg is three power-play goals (78) from passing Shea Weber (80) for the most in Predators history; and is four goals from 300 in his NHL career.
Luke Schenn is one point from 200 in his NHL career.
Tommy Novak is one point from 100 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is two assists from 500 and one game from 1,100 in his NHL career.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s game begins at 5:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic and analyst Chris Mason will have the call on the television side.
Max Herz and Hal Gill will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)
