The Nashville Predators fell 2-1 against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, as their losing skid grew to six in a row for the third time this season.
Nashville saw rookie Matthew Wood make his NHL debut. He had 13:14 of ice time and one shot on net against Montreal.
“I was impressed. Coming out of playing some college hockey, you don’t know what to expect sometimes, but I thought he showed well tonight,” assistant coach Todd Richards said. “A real encouraging sign, a young player coming in, big, and it didn’t look like speed was an issue.”
“I thought he played awesome, he was hard on pucks, making plays. I was in his shoes, not too long ago, and it can be pretty nerve-racking,” Zach L’Heureux said. “I thought he played a really good game. In the first few shifts, you could tell he was comfortable. I think that showed throughout the game, kudos to him for setting himself up for success, and we’re happy to have him.”
Patrik Laine and Cole Caufield found the back of the net for the Canadiens as they remain in the second Wild Card spot over in the Eastern Conference behind the Ottawa Senators.
Nashville found the back of the net first to kick this one off as Canadiens D-man Mike Matheson was knocked off the puck in his own end. Filip Forsberg grabbed the puck and fed an open Steven Stamkos a pass in the slot to beat Jakub Dobes to take a 1-0 lead.
Nashville’s attack persisted and bled into their first penalty kill of the night. Michael McCarron and Cole Smith drove the net and Dobes couldn’t handle a rebound. McCarron thought he buried his fifth of the season, but after a successful challenge from Montreal, the score remained at 1-0.
“We knew they were on a back-to-back with travel, we knew we had to take advantage of that and get on their defense quick. I thought we were the better team tonight and the cards just didn’t fall our way,” L’Heureux said.
Montreal’s challenge paid dividends as just 1:40 into the second frame, Caufield evened the score at 1-1. He fired a quick wrist shot that beat Juuse Saros five-hole to pick up his 36th goal of the season.
The Canadiens’ offensive spurt continued as defenseman Lane Hutson found Laine on the rush across the ice in the left circle, breaking in toward Saros. Laine beat Saros on his glove side to give his squad a 2-1 lead.
Nashville failed to muster any more goals as the Canadiens staggered their defense well against the Predators’ forwards. Dobes finished the game with 36 saves, and a total of 14 stops came in the final frame of play.
Up Next
The Predators welcome the New York Islanders to town for the final home Tuesday game of the season. The Islanders just won 4-1 on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Capitals, where Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s record.
“We were committed defensively, we were quick, we were moving the puck quick. Surprising and catching them, making it a three-quarter ice game,” L’Heureux said. “Unfortunately, we fell asleep for five to six minutes there and gave them a few rushes off our own mistakes… We just have to take all the positives and take it into Tuesday’s game.”
Pete Weber & Jay More will be on the call right here on 102.5 The Game with three more home games over the next 10 days.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
Comments