GAME DAY: Preds at Canadiens, October 16

Following their first regulation loss of the young season, the Nashville Predators will look to get back in the win column tonight when they face the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop. This evening’s contest marks the first of two meetings between the Preds and Habs this season as Nashville continues on a four-game road trip through eastern Canada.

After getting off to a 2-0-1 record, the Predators fell to the Maple Leafs in Toronto by a 7-4 final on Tuesday night. Despite the score, Nashville says there were still things to like in their game, and they’ll work to build on the positives as they face a young and talented Montreal team tonight.

“You just got to flush it, got to move on from this one,” Preds defenseman Nick Perbix said following Tuesday’s loss. “Obviously, we'll do some video, learn from this, from the mistakes we made, and build off the stuff that we did good, because I do believe there was plenty of good that we did out there.”

“We're trying to build, trying to get better, trying to take that extra step, and we're climbing up the ladder a little bit, meaning, I like the way our game's coming,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said Tuesday night. “We got away from us a little bit tonight at different times where we gave them a little bit too many [chances], too much free offense… They’ve got some high-end players that make some high-end plays. But we can be better. We will be better.”

Having completed a back-to-back set in Ottawa and Montreal to start their trip, the Predators did not practice on Wednesday. They are expected to hold a morning skate today in Montreal.

Last Time Out:

Michael McCarron, Erik Haula, Roman Josi and Perbix all tallied for Nashville on Tuesday in Toronto, while goaltender Justus Annunen took the loss in his first start of the season.

Ozzy Wiesblatt finished with two assists and one shot in 9:30 of ice time in his first game of the season for the Preds. Forwards Joakim Kemell and Brady Martin, as well as defenseman Nick Blankenburg, were scratched for Nashville.

McCarron and Haula scored 44 seconds apart. The Predators (also 0:42 on Monday at Ottawa) are the only team to score two goals in a one-minute span multiple times this season.

The Good Guys:

Linemates Haula and Jonathan Marchessault have identical statlines (2g-2a) to lead the Predators with four points apiece through four games. Josi and Filip Forsberg each have a goal and two helpers, while Ryan O’Reilly has tallied twice for Nashville. Netminder Juuse Saros is 2-0-1 with a 1.64 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage to start the season.

The Opposition:

After dropping a 5-2 decision in Toronto on Opening Night, the Canadiens have won three straight, including a 5-4 overtime comeback win against Seattle on Tuesday. Nick Suzuki’s six assists through four games leads Montreal with six points, followed by Cole Caufield (3g-2a) with five points, and then Zach Bolduc (3g-1a) and Brendan Gallagher (4a) with four points apiece. Goaltender Sam Montembeault is 2-1-0 with an .870 save percentage; Jakub Dobes won his only start with a .968 save percentage.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 17-10-(1)-7 all-time against the Canadiens, including an 8-8-(0)-2 mark on the road. Nashville is 1-3-1 in their last five against Montreal but 5-4-1 in the last 10 meetings overall.

Nashville has picked up at least a point in 19 of its last 24 meetings with Montreal (14-5-5) and has only lost five times in regulation since Jan. 15, 2009.

Notables Versus Montreal:

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.

Jonathan Marchessault, a Cap-Rouge, Que., native, ranks in the Top 5 among all active Quebec-born active players in the league in career goals (253), assists (294) and points (547).

On Nov. 14, 2009, the Predators put a franchise-record 55 shots on goal and outshot the Canadiens by a club-record 35 shots, and Pekka Rinne made 20 saves in a 2-0 victory at Bridgestone Arena.

In 24 contests since the 2009-10 season, Nashville has limited Montreal to an average of 2.13 goals per game, including 17 games in which the Predators have given up two or fewer goals.

Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier skated in 245 games for Nashville from 2016-24, tallying 69 points (11g-58a).

Milestone Watch:

Tyson Jost is one game from 500 in his NHL career.

Ryan O’Reilly is three power play goals from 100 in his career.

Michael Bunting is four goals from 100 in his NHL career.

Brady Skjei is five games from 700 in his NHL career.

Steven Stamkos (228) is five power play goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli (232) for the 10th-most in NHL history.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for this evening’s contest 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 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.