03/28/26 09:07:00
Printable Page
03/28 21:05 CDT Montreal Canadiens win their 4th straight beating the Predators
4-1
Montreal Canadiens win their 4th straight beating the Predators 4-1
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) --- Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook each
scored a goal and an assist as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Nashville
Predators 4-1 on Saturday night.
The Canadiens won their fourth straight in a streak that has them third in the
Atlantic Division just ahead of Boston. They swept the season series with
Nashville for a second straight season.
Cole Caufield also had a goal as Montreal scored three in the second. He now
has 45 goals this season and is the first to reach that mark for Montreal since
Stephane Richer had 51 in 1989-90.
Goalie Jacob Fowler, a third-round pick in the 2023 draft held in Nashville,
made 23 saves for the win.
Nick Suzuki had two assists for a team-leading 64 this season. Lane Hutson also
had an assist and now is the third defenseman in NHL history with multiple
60-assist seasons before turning 23, joining Paul Coffey (three) and Bobby Orr
(two).
Nashville lost its second straight after a five-game winning streak pushed the
Predators into the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
Zachary L'Heureux scored with 3:34 left for Nashville.
The Canadiens outshot Nashville 9-2 in the first period. Demidov put them up
1-0 with a wrister just after skating into the right circle beating goalie
Juuse Saros (28 saves) stick-side at 11:34 for his 16th of the season.
Montreal took control 3:12 into the second starting with Kapanen scoring his
22nd from in front of the crease off a pass from Newhook.
The Predators had a pair of power plays in the second against a penalty killing
unit ranked 27th in the NHL but couldn't beat Fowler.
Then Caufield scored on a wrister at 14:45, and Newhook capped the period with
a wrister from the left circle at 16:23.
Up next
Montreal: Plays at Carolina on Sunday.
The Predators start a six-game road swing Sunday at Tampa Bay.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
