Nashville Predators (1-1-1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (1-1-1)
6 p.m. CT | Bell Centre
Watch: Scripps Sports/The Spot - Nashville 28; PredsTV App (in-market); ESPN+ (out-of-market)
Listen: 102.5 The Game, Preds Radio Network
Live Stats: GameCenter
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The Nashville Predators have arrived in Montreal as their eastern Canada road trip continues, and they’ll face the Canadiens tonight for a 6 p.m. CT puck drop from the Bell Centre. This evening’s contest is the first of two meetings between the Preds and Habs this season; Nashville will host Montreal in January.
The trip began Tuesday in Toronto, and after the Predators held leads of 3-0 and 4-2, the Maple Leafs ultimately prevailed by a 5-4 final in overtime.
Now, as the Preds get set to face the Canadiens, the focus is on doing the little things that have brought them success in the early going while staying out of the penalty box.
“It's been good at times, and other times it hasn’t been so good, but we’re finding our way here,” Preds center Ryan O’Reilly said following Wednesday’s practice in Montreal. “We’ve got a big opportunity tomorrow with two points. When things are going well for us, we're skating, we're on top, we're tight, connected, we’re tough to play against. We do a lot of good things, and it's just kind of being consistent with that. And that's tough, obviously, to have right away a few games in. But every game, we’ve got to keep chipping away and getting better. There's just little things to clean up, and again, this is kind of new for a lot of guys, a shorter training camp with the new faces, so there are some challenges of being connected. But, yesterday that game was there for us. We could have had it. Unfortunately we didn't, but we reset and we focus on what we can control.”
The Predators practiced on Wednesday in Quebec and were once again joined by goaltender Justus Annunen who remains on Injured Reserve. Nashville has dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen in each of their last two games, and Wednesday’s practice lines remained unchanged from what the team has shown in recent days.
Last Time Out:
Steven Stamkos and Nils Hoglander both tallied twice, and Juuse Saros made 32 saves in net as the Preds fell to the Maple Leafs by a 5-4 final in overtime on Tuesday.
Stamkos scored his 626th and 627th career goals to take sole possession of 17th place on the NHL’s all-time goals list, and he’s also just three power-play goals away from entering into the Top 5 in League history.
Ryan O’Reilly recorded his 900th career point with an assist on Stamkos’s second goal, and Filip Forsberg added his 400th career assist on Nils Hoglander’s second tally.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 17-11-(1)-8 all-time against the Canadiens, including an 8-8-(0)-3 mark on the road. Nashville is 3-5-2 in the last 10 meetings with Montreal and 1-3-1 in the last five at the Bell Centre.
Nashville has picked up at least a point in 20 of its last 26 meetings with Montreal (14-6-6) and has only lost six times in regulation since Jan. 15, 2009. 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.
The Predators have three players from the province of Quebec: Mavrik Bourque (Plessisville), Jonathan Marchessault (Cap-Rouge) and William Trudeau (Varennes).
Nashville Notables:
Juuse Saros has started all three games for the Predators this season, posting a .907 save percentage, while being tied for the most saves in the NHL in saves (88).
Roman Josi picked up an assist on Stamkos’ first tally on Tuesday, extending his point streak to three games (1g-2a), which is tied for the longest run by a Predators defenseman since Ryan Suter in 2010-11 (three games) to begin a campaign
The Predators power play ranks eighth in the league, operating at a 37.5 percent rate (3-for-8). Steven Stamkos (2) and Nils Hoglander (1) have scored the three goals for Nashville with the man advantage.
Watch & Listen:
New this season, Preds fans can watch all locally broadcast Predators games on The Spot – Nashville 28 (WNPX) over the air with an antenna or on cable and satellite distributors serving the Predators territory.
Predators fans within the team’s TV viewing area can also stream 81 locally broadcast games for just $74 – less than $1 per game.
Nashville’s games will be streamed on the Nashville Predators App, which is available on the following devices:
- iOS/Android
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Roku
- Web via PredsTV.com
The season pass also includes access to on-demand game replays and exclusive content, such as “Inside Smashville,” a weekly magazine show that launches Friday, Oct. 2 on The Spot – Nashville 28 and Predators streaming platforms.
In addition to 81 of the team’s regular-season games being available on The Spot – Nashville 28 and via the Nashville Predators App stream, the remaining three contests will be exclusively broadcast on ESPN+.
Click here for more information on streaming and viewing options.
Fans may also listen on 102.5 The Game, the Preds Radio Network and El Jefe Radio.
