Predators Blanked 3-0 by Canadiens for sixth straight loss

On By Littum

The Nashville Predators were once again victims of their own offensive ineptitude as they were shut out 3-0 by Sam Montembault and the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at the Center Bell.

Goaltender Justus Annunen was outstanding in his Predators debut, coming up with a string of key saves as he turned away 27 of 29 shots and finished with a .931 save percentage. It wasn’t enough, however, as the Predators dropped their sixth in a row to fall to 7-14-6 on the season.

How the Predators lined up against Montreal

Forsberg – Stamkos – Nyquist
Jankowski – Svechkov – Marchessault
L’Heureux – Pärssinen – Evangelista
McCarron – Sissons – Smith

Josi – Transporter
Skjei – Blankenburg
Wilsby – Schenn

The announcement
Saros

Extras: Del Gaizo, Novak, O’Reilly, Lauzon*

*The Predators announced at the start of warmups that Ryan O’Reilly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In addition, Jeremy Lauzon has been placed on Injured Reserve with a lower body injury.

Michael McCarron returned to the lineup after missing six games on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury.

Game overview

The Predators got an early power play opportunity when Montreal was assessed a bench minor at the 6:58 mark of the first period for having too many men on the ice. The opportunity was wasted less than a minute later when the Canadiens’ penalty killers forced a 2-on-1 in the Nashville zone and allowed Jake Evans to rip a shot past Annunen to give Montreal a 1-0 lead.

A scoreless second period ended with back-to-back penalties by Gustav Nyquist (tripping) and Colton Sissons (interference) to give Montreal a 5-on-3 advantage to start the third. Patrik Laine took advantage with a power play goal just over a minute into the period to extend Montreal’s lead to 2-0.

The Predators got a 5-on-3 advantage of their own with back-to-back penalties called on Kirby Dach and Jayden Struble later in the period, but were ultimately unable to capitalize. Nyquist appeared to get the Predators on the board on the power play, but the goal was immediately waved off when the puck was ruled kicked into the net.

Joel Armia scored in the empty net with 45 seconds left for the 3-0 final.

Next

The Predators conclude their three-game Canadian road trip Saturday with a visit to the Ottawa Senators. The puck drops at 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for customers outside the US market.

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